A study shows less than a third of people living in aged-care facilities have regular vision tests and less than a quarter have regular hearing tests.
The health of older adults was assessed using standardised data from interRAI Home Care and Long-Term Care Facility instruments, between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020.
Study author and University of Otago ophthalmology consultant and eye surgeon Dr Francesc March said the retrospective analyses looked at more than 48,000 vision and hearing impairment assessments of people over 65 years old.
It also included Māori and Pacific peoples 55 years or over, because they were known to have earlier onset of health conditions and eligibility for support.
"Among adults aged 65 or over, about 11% report vision impairment and about 34% of men and 23% of women report hearing loss."
He said during the two-year time frame the study showed regular hearing examinations were undertaken by 31% of people living at home and 21% of people living in care facilities.
Regular vision testing was undertaken by 55% of people living at home, but that dropped to 32% among those in care facilities.
"This should be 100%, as per international recommendations."
Although 72% of the sample living in an aged residential care facility used visual aids, only 20% used hearing aids, he said.
"Access to sensory assessments and the use of corrective aids were consistently lower in aged residential care than in home-based settings, specifically impacting Māori and Pasifika."
He said this was the picture in 2019-20, and the situation could be even worse today.
"This was the most up-to-date information we could obtain.
"The data is interRAI — government collected data — so it’s official and powerful.
"It reflects the reality of visual and hearing problems in New Zealand."
He said it was important for elderly people to have vision and hearing checks, because humans interact with the world through vision and hearing.
"Maintaining good vision and hearing supports independence, quality of life, social contact, communication and mental stimulation.
"We know that hearing and vision loss increases the risk of dementia. Loss of vision also increases falls, accidents and depression.
"So check-ups are likely to detect causes of vision and hearing loss, and help address them on time."
He said regular examinations — ideally at least once a year for older adults — would help detect common age-related issues.
"Early detection is critical because timely diagnosis and treatment can prevent or reduce sensory loss before it becomes irreversible or severely disabling.
"About 80% of permanent visual impairment or blindness can be avoided with timely treatment."
Dr March called for the government to provide more funding for elderly people — particularly those in residential care — to receive annual vision and hearing checks.
"In New Zealand, a country with a population of approximately 5.1 million in the year 2020, there were approximately 880,000 people with hearing loss and 180,000 people with severe to moderate functional vision loss ...
The reality is that these results are only going to get worse."
