HEALTH & WELLNESS S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
judgment, and visual perception. At least
two of the aforementioned symptoms
must be severely impaired to indicate
signs of dementia. Usually the signs and
symptoms are progressive and get worse
over time. If caught early by a health care
professional, some symptoms can be
treated. One of the most common types of
dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s accounts for 60 to 80
percent of all dementia cases. It causes
severe problems with daily tasks that
involve memory, thinking and behavior.
It is not a normal part of aging, but the
greatest known risk factor is increasing
age since the disease is progressive. While
it is most common in people over the age
of 65, younger-onset Alzheimer’s is found
in five percent of people as young as their
40s.
According to the Alzheimer’s
Association, evidence shows that
incorporating the following habits will
keep you fit both physically and mentally:
• Heart Health – Obesity, high blood
pressure and diabetes—all risk
factors for cardiovascular disease—
negatively impact your cognitive health.
Cardiovascular activity increases blood
flow to the brain and body, reducing the
risk of cognitive decline.
• Helmet Up! – Brain injury is one of
the leading causes of dementia and
cognitive decline. Play it smart and
always wear a helmet to protect from
brain injury.
• Sleep Tight – Have you ever stayed up
late, only to find you’re forgetful and
mentally lethargic the next day? Not
getting enough sleep can result in lower
brain function, affecting memory and
thinking.
• Be a Social Butterfly – Staying active
with friends and loved ones may
support brain health as well. A recent
study from the Women’s Healthy
Aging Project found that babysitting
grandchildren could lower the risk of
Alzheimer’s.
• Challenge Yourself – Enjoy crossword
puzzles or painting? Keep your brain
challenged by doing something new
each day, whether it is learning a new
language, doing a jigsaw puzzle or
reading a book!
Eye and Ear Health
Hearing and vision are two essential
parts of our everyday lives. Yet there are
many individuals who let ear and eye
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problems go unattended. Ear and eye
health is equally as important as taking
care of the rest of the body and should be
well maintained to ensure many years of
seeing and hearing the things you love.
Eye Health
It is important to visit your eye
care professional once a year for a
comprehensive eye exam. Although you
may think you are seeing fine, issues may
be lurking without any warning signs.
During a yearly visit, your pupils will be
dilated, or widened, so that your eye care
professional can examine the back of the
eye for damage or disease. It is important
to know your family’s eye health history as
well, since some conditions are hereditary.
Some of the most common eye diseases
include diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma,
cataracts, and age-related macular
degeneration (AMD).
• Diabetic Retinopathy: This type 1 or
type 2 diabetes complication is caused
by damage to blood vessels in the retina,
the light-sensitive tissues in the back
of the eye. If left untreated, diabetic
retinopathy could cause blindness.
Early stages of this condition may go
unnoticed if an eye care professional
is not visited yearly. As the condition
progresses, symptoms may include
blurred vision, impaired color vision,
floaters, and/or dark areas in your
vision. Symptoms may occur if there is
too much sugar in your blood, which
can cause a blockage in the blood
vessels that lead to the retina. Proper
management of diabetes is the best way
to prevent vision loss.
• Glaucoma: The second leading cause
of blindness, glaucoma is a group of
diseases that damage the eye’s optic
nerve. The risk of developing glaucoma
increases with age and if parents or
siblings have the disease. During an
eye exam, glaucoma can be detected by
measuring eye pressure, inspecting the
drainage angle of the eye, evaluating the
health of the optic nerve and testing
the visual field of each eye. Depending
on the type and severity of the disease,
glaucoma can be treated through eye
drops, medication or surgery.
• Cataracts: A cataract affects vision by
clouding the lens of the eye. Chances
of cataracts increase greatly with age,
with more than half of all Americans
either having a cataract or having had
cataract surgery by the age of 80. People
in their 40s and 50s can have cataracts,
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but they are typically small and do not
affect vision. Cataracts are detected by
blurred vision, faded colors, glare from
headlights or lamps, poor night vision,
double vision, or frequent prescription
changes in eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Early detection can improve cataracts
through new eyeglasses, anti-glare
sunglasses or brighter lighting. Surgery
can also be done to remove the cloudy
lens and replace it with an artificial lens.
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration
(AMD): One of the common but
lesser known eye conditions is AMD.
A leading cause of vision loss among
people 50 years of age and older, AMD
affects the macula, the millions of light-
sensing cells that provide your eye with
sharp, central vision. Age is a major
risk factor for developing AMD, with
most cases occurring after the age of 60.
Genetics, race, and smoking can also
affect risk for AMD. A comprehensive
eye exam can detect it through dilation
and testing. Your eye care professional
will look for yellow deposits beneath
the retina to determine whether you
have AMD. Intermediate and late AMD
can be treated with daily intake of
vitamins and minerals that can slow the
progression of the disease. Therapy and
surgery can also be considered for types
of advanced neovascular AMD, which
typically results in severe vision loss, to
stop further progression.
Hearing Loss and Prevention
It is common for hearing loss to occur
as you age. According to the Mayo Clinic,
about 25 percent of people in the United
States between the ages of 55 and 64 have
some degree of hearing loss, increasing
to one in two people by age 65 and
older. Chronic exposure to loud noises
and aging are the two main causes of
hearing loss, resulting in the perception
of muffled speech from others, difficulty
understanding words, frequent requests for
others to repeat themselves, loud volume
on the television or radio, and avoidance of
social settings.
Hearing loss occurs when there is
damage to the inner ear, infection in the
ear, or ruptured eardrum. Damage to the
inner ear can happen with age, or constant
exposure to loud noises over an extended
period of time. These cause wear on the
nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound
to the brain. When they are damaged,
signals aren’t transmitted as effectively,
causing loss of hearing. Heredity, aging,