A woman has opened up about her experiences of being deaf and blind to destigmatise diagnoses of sight and hearing loss.
Emma Handford, who is Specsavers Watford audiology director,was born with Usher Syndrome.
The symptoms cause deafness and are linked to eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa.
She has hearing aids and a guide dog, eight-year-old Odene, who goes everywhere with her.
"Most people wouldn't know I can't see," she said.
"Often I can tell my patients who are hesitant about wearing hearing aids and worried they will be visible to friends and family. That's when I ask them if they notice I'm wearing them yet.
"They are always shocked to find out I have hearing loss too.
"Being a deaf audiologist also has the benefit of allowing me to try out the latest technologies in hearing aids."
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