Living Well

Five Threats to Happy, Healthy Aging

It starts in our 50s...

As the years creep up on us, so does our need for stimulation...

Specifically, stimulation from the outside world. Special "receptor" cells become activated by stimuli from your surroundings. Those cells send a message to the brain, which then processes and translates the information into sensations.

As you get older, your brain will require more stimuli to efficiently sense things. Your ability to detect things by smelling, touching, tasting, seeing, and hearing slowly starts declining...

  • By age 65, a third of seniors will encounter problems with vision.
  • Among those older than 75, almost half will suffer a hearing disability.
  • In our 60s, 13% of us will have problems smelling. That number rises to 25% once we reach our 70s and 39% after age 80.

Due to dulling – or complete loss – of sensory function, your lifestyle will take a direct hit...

You might be scared of falling, so you avoid getting regular exercise even though it's crucial for preventing or managing debilitating chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, and dementia... You might have trouble reading your favorite books or listening to your favorite music... You might be unable to drive, which can strip you of your independence... Or you might be too embarrassed to meet up with friends, which can lead to social isolation.

And in the long run, a decline in multiple senses could lead to a mental health problem – which 20% of older folks will eventually have to grapple with.

In a recent study from the University of Chicago Medicine, researchers pored through 10 years of data from roughly 4,000 Americans between the ages of 57 and 85. The data comprised sensory-test results over a 10-year period.

Participants were classified as having an olfactory disability if they couldn't identify more than three scents. A score below 3 qualified as hearing and vision disabled, based on test results graded from 1 to 5, where 1 meant being "practically deaf" and "practically blind" and 5 meant having normal vision and hearing.

Researchers found that the greater the number of sensory impairments an older adult had, the greater the likelihood of self-reported poor mental health and symptoms of loneliness. In fact, just having two sensory disabilities raised those risks by 60% and 30%, respectively, compared with those who didn't have sensory problems. Participants with three sensory disabilities had a 75% higher risk of frequently suffering episodes of depression.

Here's what happens with each of our senses as we age and some tips on how to adjust to those changes...

Seeing: Aging alters the machinery inside your eyes. For instance, your pupils might become slower to react and adapt to light and darkness (which can make nighttime driving tough). The lens, which sits behind the pupil, can stiffen and make you have trouble seeing things up close. Your eye muscles might weaken, causing problems with moving your eyeballs around. Muscles on the outside of your eyes like in your eyelids can weaken, leading to eyelid droop that can obscure vision.

My advice is to stay on top of getting regular eye exams. The right prescriptive eyewear can make a huge difference. And an exam will also check for vision-robbing eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts. Adding brighter lights in your house will help, too.

Hearing: When hearing starts to go due to age, you'll have trouble hearing high-frequency noises and telling sounds apart from one another. You also might develop tinnitus, where you keep hearing a certain noise like ringing or buzzing. Along with detecting sound, your inner ear also helps you maintain balance so you stay upright instead of falling.

My advice is to protect your hearing from worsening by using earplugs. You can also keep tabs on your hearing at home with apps like Mimi, SonicCloud, hearWHO, or Jacoti. And consider asking your doctor or audiologist about getting hearing aids.

Touching: Changes in your nerves cause problems adjusting to different temperatures or detecting pain. As a result, you might injure yourself and not even realize it.

My advice is to keep your circulatory system working efficiently. That way, your nerves get the blood flow they need for proper functioning. And I suggest regular exercise. Older folks should get at least two and a half hours of heart-pumping, moderate-intensity exercise – like brisk walking – each week. Or if you can up the intensity, get 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (like jogging) each week.

Smelling and Tasting: Tastebuds shrink and drop in number as you get older. Production of important fluids involved in these senses also drop... Less sticky mucus in your nose means less time scent molecules spend in your nose for receptor cells there to pick up. Less saliva means dry mouth, which can cause problems with taste. Losing these two senses can lead to loss of appetite, putting you at risk of dehydration, malnutrition, and muscle wasting. Or you might find yourself heaping on salt, which can put you at risk of high blood pressure. And since the part of your brain involved in processing scents also happens to be involved with processing memories, olfactory decline can signal a higher risk of dementia.

My advice is to experiment with herbs and spices rather than sugar and salt to make food flavorful. Also, try to change your dining environment to make mealtimes pleasurable, like dining with a loved one or friend whenever possible, playing your favorite music, or adding eye-catching dishware and place settings. For dry nose and mouth, try using saline sprays (the preservative-free kind that comes in a can) and always keeping your favorite tumbler filled with water nearby.

Finally, keep in mind that if your senses undergo a sudden change or if you experience other new symptoms at the same time, make sure to get checked out by your doctor. Being vigilant this way will allow for happy, healthy aging.

What We're Reading...

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
September 3, 2024