Other children may suffer from rarer conditions or find that their sight gets worse as they get older. Many children have hearing loss in one or both ears. This is because the inner ear, which links the ear to the brain, has been damaged. A child's hearing may also get worse over time. The heart is a complicated organ and many different problems can be caused by the virus.
Rubella can also affect a child's brain, and difficulties can vary from mild to severe.
Between 1971 and 1979 there were 416 children born with severe disabilities resulting from congenital rubella syndrome. Recent research by Norman Brown from Sense, amongst others, has shown that adults who have been affected by congenital rubella syndrome, may develop additional problems as they move into adulthood. This may include further deterioration in sight and hearing, and behavioural problems are commonly reported. Deafblindness as part of multiple disability Today, congenital rubella syndrome is no longer the most common cause of deafblindness. Increasingly, as well as a sensory impairment, children have other complex and multiple disabilities to cope with.