Sensory loss survey launched in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Efforts to create a fuller statistical picture of hearing and vision loss in the UK will be bolstered by the UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study.

As of October, medical professionals have begun visiting households in randomly selected Cambridgeshire and Peterborough postcodes to provide an overview of the study and invite participants aged 50 and older for a free specialist eye and hearing assessment. These household visits will continue until February 2025.

A statement from Anglia Ruskin University highlighted that the initial study areas have been chosen for the diverse population base, with rural and urban areas, as well as a broad range of socio-economic factors.

It is hoped that the initial study will lead to further funding for a UK-wide study that would provide an accurate picture of sensory health.

Chief investigator, Professor Robert Bourne, of Anglia Ruskin University, highlighted that hearing impairment is estimated to cost the UK £30 billion each year, while sight loss and blindness has an estimated economic burden of £28 billion annually.

“Despite these huge costs, the datasets currently used in the UK are of limited value, due to a reliance on international data, or UK data samples that are either very small scale, or not generalisable to the population as a whole. There is subsequently no robust evidence-base upon which to design a prevention strategy or plan services for the future that meet the population’s needs,” he said.

The UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study has been developed by Anglia Ruskin University’s Vision and Eye Research Institute in collaboration with the College of Optometrists and charitable partners, including the Thomas Pocklington Trust.

The project has also received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research.