SPECIAL SECTION: HEALTHY LIVING
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 problems go
unattended. Ear and eye health is equally as important as taking care
of the rest of the body and should be well cared for 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 agerelated macular degeneration (AMD).
Diabetic Retinopathy: This type 1 or type 2 diabetic
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.
u 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.
u 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, 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.
u 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
u
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