their 40s and 50s can have cataracts,
floaters, and/or dark areas in your
but they are typically small and do not
vision. Symptoms may occur if there is
affect vision. Cataracts are detected by
too much sugar in your blood, which
blurred vision, faded colors, glare from
can cause a blockage in the blood
headlights or lamps, poor night vision,
vessels that lead to the retina. Proper
double vision, or frequent prescription
management of diabetes is the best way
changes in eyeglasses or contact lenses.
to prevent vision loss.
Early detection can improve cataracts
• Glaucoma: The second leading cause
through new eyeglasses, anti-glare
of blindness, glaucoma is a group of
sunglasses or brighter lighting. Surgery
diseases that damage the eye’s optic
can also be done to remove the cloudy
nerve. The risk of developing glaucoma
lens and replace it with an artificial
increases with age and if parents or
lens.
siblings have the disease. During an
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration
eye exam, glaucoma can be detected by
(AMD): One of the common but
measuring eye pressure, inspecting the
lesser known eye conditions is AMD.
drainage angle of the eye, evaluating
A leading cause of vision loss among
the health of the optic nerve and
people 50 years of age and older, AMD
testing the visual field of each eye.
affects the macula, the millions of light-
Depending on the type and severity of
sensing cells that provide your eye with
the disease, glaucoma can be treated
sharp, central vision. Age is a major risk
through eye drops, medication or
factor for developing AMD, with most
surgery.
cases occurring after the age of 60.
• Cataracts: A cataract affects vision by
Genetics, race, and smoking can also
clouding the lens of the eye. Chances of
724-935-4210
Wexford,
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affect risk for AMD. A comprehensive
cataracts
increase greatly
with age,
eye exam can detect it through dilation
more than half of all Americans either
and testing. Your eye care professional
having a cataract or having had cataract
will look for yellow deposits beneath
surgery by the age of 80. People in
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
Continued on page 23 >
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