Integritus Prime

Age is really not a cage if we know about, accept and deal with all the changes that may be taking place. Aging affects all the senses such as sight, hearing, speech, touch, taste and sensation. In the third episode of Beyond Medicine we looked at three sensory areas – seeing, hearing and speaking – where changes are occurring. These changes can be managed to provide a decent quality of life.

The eyes get affected in many ways as we age and that can lead to impaired vision. Near-sightedness commonly gets affected, necessitating the use of reading glasses. Cataracts may develop and it blurs vision, however, this can be remedied with artificial lenses. Sometimes, due to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure (which are common in older people), damage can occur to the back of the eye (retina) or the pressure in the eye can increase. These changes are more difficult to correct and some retinal changes may even be irreversible.

Ears are responsible for hearing and balance. Hearing loss is not uncommon in older people for various reasons. This may lead also to not being able to process the sounds heard, hence affect understanding and perception. However, balance may also get affected and this may predispose the aging to have difficulty maintaining balance while sitting, standing or walking; the chances of falling increases. The trick is to realize that it’s happening and take action such as holding on to something while performing these activities.

Speech gets affected due to hearing and teeth loss; weakening muscles in the jaw and throat; dry mouth; changes in voice and other reasons. People may have difficulty understanding what the aging person is saying. Aging people may start using simpler vocabulary to communicate.

When there is deterioration in these three senses, the aging person my start withdrawing from interaction, feel left out or misunderstood or lose self-confidence.

To avoid this situation, the following 7 actions could be taken as a start, but they are not easy to implement:

1. Have regular eye tests after the age of 40 years – this will give early warning of deteriorating vision. While this is a standard practice, many people neglect it, so making it a family pact might help.
2. Eat healthy meals with adequate vitamins, and trace elements apart from basic nutritional needs. As people age, they may gravitate toward eating their favorite, and often unhealthy, comfort foods and emotionally blackmail their caregivers by saying they should at least eat what they want. Another challenge is the need to eat soft foods, less salt and oil and sugar for lifestyle diseases, and elders may stubbornly refuse to do this.
3. Be aware of difficulty in hearing or understanding loved ones. Sometimes, this awareness can lead to fear and withdrawal. When a family member points out the issues, this can be received as being pushy or “outing” the issue, which can also feel negative for the aging person.
4. Seek help early with any difficulties in seeing, hearing or speaking. This might not be easy, as aging people may begin to withdraw or seek to hide these changes due to a sense of shame or fear.
5. Share any concerns regarding the senses with family members, loved ones and/or caregivers – again, sometimes this does not happen, because elders feel a sense of weakness and rebel against the idea of becoming dependent on others.
6. Have regular checkups to diagnose lifestyle diseases, if any, and control them to delay sensory changes – sometimes checkups are a reminder of aging, so these may be resisted as well, but ultimately they are critical for tracking how the elder is doing.
7. Use glasses and/or hearing aids if prescribed to enhance confidence – this is non-trivial, as sometimes elders may not want to wear these devices for a variety of reasons including denial, stubbornness, unwillingness to correct defects in the devices, or embarrassment.

Seeking help is a sign of strength and responsibility. It is better to be safe by taking precautions as falls and injuries have a profound effect on older people and take longer to get better.

Share with us your experiences on sensory changes in aging people.