A Shropshire event designed to improve the quality of life for those with sensory impairment, such as hearing or sight loss, is being sponsored by award-winning caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure.

A complimentary eye screening service is being offered at the See and Hear Shropshire Exhibition, which is being held at Shrewsbury Sports Village on Wednesday, May 13. Around 800 people from across the West Midlands, the Marches and Wales are expected to attend the eighth annual event.

Salop Leisure, which has sales centres in Shrewsbury, Machynlleth and Stourport-on-Severn, is supplying a touring caravan with hot and cold running water to accommodate a hearing aid maintenance clinic, run by Shrewsbury and Telford’s audiology department.

The event is open to everyone to try equipment and learn more about the support on offer to help improve the quality of life for those with sensory impairment, such as hearing or sight loss. There will also be information and advice available on how to prevent health issues that could lead to avoidable sight or hearing loss. 

Eye screening will be provided by Shropshire Local Optical Committee, sighted guide training for friends, families and neighbours will be provided by Shrewsbury Guide Dogs and sighted guides, BSL and Deafblind interpreters will be available.

There will also be an information session with Dementia Friends, advice on how to use an accessible cash point and seeing skills sessions run by the Macular Society. In addition, there will be sports taster sessions, including a climbing wall, all-ability cycling on the cycle track and a gym to promote health and wellbeing.

More than 60 exhibitors will showcase products and services and give demonstrations.

Pauline Rose, Vision Technology and Training manager for Shropshire, said the event was growing every year and the eye screening service, particularly, was very important to help identify potential sight problems.

 “One person who took advantage of the eye screening service at a previous exhibition later thanked us because it picked up a potential problem with her sight, about which she had been completely unaware,” she said. “The scanner can see three layers down in the back of the eye to examine for potential problems.” 

She explained that an information session with Dementia Friends was important because statistics had shown that people with hearing and sight loss were more likely to suffer from dementia.

Pauline thanked Salop Leisure for loaning the caravan, without which it would have been difficult to hold the hearing aid maintenance clinic.

Tony Bywater, Salop Leisure’s chairman, said the company was delighted to support the important event which aims to improve the quality of life for people with sensory impairment, many of whom enjoy holidays in touring caravans and caravan holiday homes.