Aging is scary for most people. There are many changes that happen and unfortunately, statistics show that around 82%of people that are affected by blindness are over 50 years old. Aging means various social, mental and physical health changes appear. It is much more common than we would like to admit to see changes to ears and eyes. This is due to genetic factors, diseases, environmental factors and even wear and tear. It should be no surprise that many that use home open roof systems from the likes of The Sunshine Experts are older people.
Our Eyes And Aging
When we age there are different changes that happen with our eyes. As an example, the clear (eye white area) goes through changes because of UV light exposure. It is normal to have our eyes look browner or yellower because of cholesterol or fatty deposits appearing in the membrane that is covering the eyes. We can see conjunctiva thinning leading to dry eyes and eyelid muscles will become weaker. The most commonly met eye disorders with older people include:
- Macular Degeneration – This condition appears due to fine grain deposits that become present in our retina.
- Cataracts – The aging condition most people know about. Our eye’s lens is clouded and the reason for this is believed to be a protein degradation and breakdown. This naturally happens as the lens ages.
- Diabetic retinopathy – The condition involves retina damage with diabetes as the cause. The connection between aging and Type 2 diabetes is well-documented. Blood glucose level control is getting tougher and older adults can end up with diabetic retinopathy as a result.
- Glaucoma – One of the most common age related eye conditions, it appears when damage appears to the optic nerve, leading to peripheral visual field losses.
Our Ears And Aging
Our eyes are not the only part of the body that is affected by aging. Literally the entire body is affected. This does include ears. The outer ear tends to become bigger. This leads to having earwax accumulate faster. Eardrums become stiffer and the neural nerve system changes. An older person tends to suffer from auditory processing disorders and hearing loss as an immediate effect.
Daily Life Changes
We are faced with numerous ear and eye diseases and changes that appear as we age. Because of this, older people will be affected at many different levels. It is normal to see light sensitivity and a problem in visualizing objects that are distant, together with reading print difficulties.
Commonly experienced hearing problems include speech understanding problems and difficulties in discriminating and perceiving sounds. This does include speech. If the listening situations are poor (like the presence of high background noise), hearing problems are very common. Unfortunately, because of all these changes, mental problems can develop.
Conclusions
It is normal to have our eyes and ears affected as we age. Because of this, going to the doctor, getting checked out and learning how to deal with the changes is very important. While in some cases there is nothing that can be done, in many situations it would be easy to improve life quality with professional help.