Usher Syndrome is characterized by hearing loss and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP causes night blindness and loss of peripheal vision through degeneration of the retina of the eye.
There are three types of Usher Syndrome.
Type I: person is born profoundly deaf, has a balance problem and loses their vision early on in life.
Type II: person is born with moderate to severe hearing loss, has no balance problems, RP usually becomes apparent during the teenage years.
Type III: person is born with normal hearing and vision but as time goes on both worsen.
I have type II Usher Syndrome. I was born with a moderate to severe hearing loss. In 1996, the summer after I graduated from high school, I found out that I had RP. The doctor gave me no information, he just said that I had little peripheal vision but that I had good tracking. Two years ago I noticed that I couldn't see the stuff that I normally saw anymore so I checked into disability and got it.
In the last few months I decided that I needed to prepare myself for eventual blindness and contacted the Michigan Commission for the Blind. I will now be learning Orientation and Mobility (using a cane) and braille through the Hadley School for the Blind. So this is my blog on what I have learned and what it is like to live with Usher. I hope that many will gain an understanding of this syndrome and know that I am not just a clumsy person!
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