Deaf And Blind

Usher syndrome - "a genetic disease causing deafwrote about the disease when it was unknown, and
and blindness." A simple definition. In essence, thisdescribed cases in which there was a clear link
disease slowly blinds you by progressive retinisbetween congenital deafness and retinis pigmentosa.
pigmentosa, as well as ruin your hearing throughThis was long ago, and he was ahead of his time, as
congenital hearing loss. This particular disease can onlythe paper was writtin in 1914.
be inherited, and is uncommon becuase it is aThis condition has three seperate types; Usher
recessive trait. It can occur in an estimated 1 in 11,000Syndrome I, II and III. I is the most unfair, as the child is
people.born almost completely deaf, and eyesight begins to
"Usher Syndrome" is not a name which best describesfail after about age 10. In type II, eyesight does not tend
or reflects its signs and symptoms. It was named thisto degrade until later in life, but the child is born hard of
becuase of C.H. Usher, a British ophthalmologist. Hehearing.