Another group, Hearing and Sight Impaired, for people who use hearing aids, is now getting off the ground with Sense s support. The majority of people with sight and hearing difficulties are in older age groups. Over half of people over 60 have some degree of hearing loss and one in twelve has serious sight loss, while a minority lose both sight and hearing. Sense began working for this age group and for others with acquired deafblindness in 1994. Communicator guide schemes, also established in 1994, help mainly older people to maintain their independence.
Sense also trains and support other professionals.
Between 1998 and 1999, Sense acquired three residential care homes for older people to extend services for this age group. By the 1990s, Sense was an acknowledged expert in its field and Sense International was set up in 1994 to share that expertise worldwide. In many parts of the world, services for deafblind people and their families are non-existent and their situation is often desperate. Sense International began work with partners in Latin America in 1995. The Sense International Professional Development Programme started in 1996, training people to work in their own countries.