UNIT 4 TEST Flashcards
Life expectancy
The number of years the average person born in a particular year will probably live (ex. 2018 = 78.6yrs)
- Improved with science advances, also substantial reduction in infant deaths
Brain loses ____% of its weight between ages 20 + 90
5-10%
What is effected when the brain shrinks??????
-Shrinkage of neurons
-Lower numbers of synapses
-Reduced length and complexity of axons
-reduced tree-like branching in dendrites
Dendrites
receiving portion of the neuron
What causes lack of dendritic growth in older adults??????
lack of environmental stimulation and activity
Presbyopia
Age-related difficulties with seeing close objects
-Universal changes that happens in mid-life
-often reason for reading glasses
Poorer dark vision
cannot see as well in dimly lit places
Troubles with glare
Being blinded by bright light shinning in eye
Color vision
Diminishes because the lens of the eye begin to yellow
Depth perception
declines with age
Visual decline + social contact
Decline in vision can lead to less social interactions because leisure activities become challenging
cateracts
The thickening of eye’s lens causes vision to become cloudy, opaque, and distorted
Glaucoma
Damage to the optic nerve because of pressure created by fluid buildup in the eye
macular degeneration
deterioration of the retina’s macula, which corresponds to focal center of the visual field
Vision interventions
-strong indirect lighting
-Avoid fluorescent lighting
-Use adjustable lighting
-Look into low-vision aids
-explore books on tape
Why hearing loss is bad
-Limits the ability to connect with the human world through language
what devices help hearing loss
Hearing aids and cochlear implants
Hearing loss statistics
-One in three older adults suffers from hearing loss
-men are more likely to develop hearing loss - because of exposure to loud noises
-problems increase because of technology oriented culture
presbycusis
The characteristic age-related hearing loss
-condition is permanent
-background noise overpower the sounds people want to hear
-Hearing aids usually don’t help
What causes presbycusis??
Atrophy of hearing receptors in the inner ear
Hearing loss intervention
-Avoid high-noise environments
-install carpet in house
-replace noisy appliances
-avoid elderly speek
elderly speak
Speaking loudly and with slow, exaggerating pronunciation
Smell and Taste
Loss begins around age 60 and is significantly noticeably around 80
Touch and Pain
-with aging, many have impaired toud(detecting less in lower extremities)
-60-70% of older adults have some form of persistent pain
-older adults are less sensitive to pain