Question

STUDY QUESTIONS: GERONTOLOGY NURSING

1. What are the effects of aging on sensory function?

2. What can be done to prevent vision and hearing losses with aging?

Answer 1

1) As you age, the way your senses (hearing, vision, taste, smell, touch) give you information about the world changes. Your senses become less sharp, and this can make it harder for you to notice details.

Sensory changes can affect your lifestyle. You may have problems communicating, enjoying activities, and staying involved with people. Sensory changes can lead to isolation.

Your senses receive information from your environment. This information can be in the form of sound, light, smells, tastes, and touch. Sensory information is converted into nerve signals that are carried to the brain. There, the signals are turned into meaningful sensations.

A certain amount of stimulation is required before you become aware of a sensation. This minimum level of sensation is called the threshold. Aging raises this threshold. You need more stimulation to be aware of the sensation.

Aging can affect all of the senses, but usually hearing and vision are most affected. Devices such as glasses and hearing aids, or lifestyle changes can improve your ability to hear and see.

2)Protecting Your Eyesight as You Age
Eat a varied diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Limit your consumption of red meat and processed foods.
Avoid smoking and limit alcohol intake.
Get regular physical activity.
Shield your eyes from sunlight by wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.
Around age 60, these changes in near vision should stop, and prescription changes should occur less frequently. Presbyopia can't be prevented or cured, but most people should be able to regain clear, comfortable near vision for all of their lifestyle needs.

Top 8 ways to improve vision over 50:-
Eat for your eyes. Eating carrots is good for your vision.
Exercise for your eyes. Since eyes have muscles, they could use some exercises to remain in good shape.
Full body exercise for vision.
Rest for your eyes.
Get enough sleep.
Create eye-friendly surroundings.
Avoid smoking.
Have regular eye exams.

Many adults eventually realize they’re pressing the “volume up” button on the TV remote more often, or that a lot of people around them need to speak up. There are two common reasons people start to lose their hearing:

Age: As you get older, the tiny hair cells in your inner ears slowly break down and can’t pick up sound vibrations as well as they used to.

Noise: A lot of loud sound over time can damage the hair cells in your ears.

You can do some things to avoid noise-induced hearing loss and keep age-related hearing loss from getting worse. Here are eight tips to help keep your ears as sharp as possible.

1. Avoid Too Much Noise
How loud is too loud? If you have to shout over the noise around you, it's loud enough to damage your hearing. Sounds from motorcycles, concert speakers, power tools like saws and drills, earphones, and more are all loud enough to make a difference.

2. Be a Quiet Enforcer
Think about buying appliances and devices that have low noise ratings. And if it's too loud in the movie theater, restaurant, or any other place you go often, ask the manager to turn it down.

3. Limit Loud Sounds in Your Life
Sometimes you can't avoid the blare of an ambulance siren or the jackhammer on your street corner. But it's best to limit the amount of time you're around them. Noise-induced hearing loss is a result of the loudness of sounds and how long you hear them.

4. Wear Hearing Protection
If you know you're going to be around loud sounds for more than a few minutes, think about wearing protection, such as:

Earplugs. Usually made of foam or rubber, they go in your ear canal and can reduce noise by 15 to 30 decibels. You can buy them off-the-shelf or have them custom-made to fit you. Some earplugs lower noise levels evenly across all frequencies. They’re useful for people who need to make sound quieter but undistorted, such as musicians.
Earmuffs. These fit completely over your ears and reduce sounds by about 15 to 30 decibels. They have to fit tightly over both ears to block sound.
You can also wear earplugs and earmuffs together for even greater protection.
5. Don't Smoke
Tobacco can make you more likely to lose your hearing, too, research shows. So if you light up, that's one more good reason to quit. If you aren’t a smoker, avoid breathing secondhand smoke.

6. Remove Earwax Properly
A buildup of wax in your ears can muffle sound. But don't use a cotton swab to clean them out -- they can push wax deeper in. Instead, use an at-home irrigation kit to soften wax and gently wash it out. If it gets compacted in your ear, your doctor may need to remove it.

7.. Check Medications for Hearing Risks
About 200 drugs can damage hearing, including some antibiotics and cancer-fighting drugs. Even high doses of aspirin can harm your ears. If you take a prescription medication, check with your doctor to make sure it won’t make an impact. If you must take a medication that may harm your ears, make sure your doctor checks your hearing and balance before and during your treatment.

8. Have Your Hearing Tested
Make an appointment to get a hearing test if you:

Have close relatives with hearing loss
Have trouble hearing conversations
Are around loud noises on a regular basis
Often hear ringing in your ears
If you have some hearing loss, you can avoid getting more damage by steering clear of loud noises. If your problem is severe enough, think about a hearing aid or other treatment. Be sure to see your doctor if you have a sudden change in what you can hear that you can’t explain. It could be a symptom of other serious medical problems.