SINGAPORE, Feb. 22 -- More than one-third of older adults in Singapore do not know they have at least one eye disease and one in five have significant hearing loss, but very few are using hearing aids, the Straits Times reported, citing a population study by the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI).

The report said sensory impairments in vision, hearing and smell are widespread among seniors and linked to poorer daily functioning and higher healthcare costs.

According to the study, called the Pioneer study, which tracked 2,636 Chinese, Malay and Indian adults aged 60 to 102 from late 2017 to October 2022, about 20 per cent of participants had some form of triple sensory loss.

The report said seniors with impairments in vision, heari...