NATIVE ELDER CAREGIVER CURRICULUMNECC: 1.2SENSORY CHANGES
Caring for Our Elders: Sensory Changes 1.2
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Sensory Changes
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Sensory Changes can come from: “Normal” Changes in specific sense organsEyes, nose, skin, ears, brain
Effects of illness & disease Effects of medications
Sensory Changes
Important to “compensate” for the changes in sensory systems Many strategies are useful & effective !
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Sensory Changes: Vision
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Vision Changes Cornea thicker and less curvedIncrease in astigmatism
Lens no longer clear, but cloudyCataracts
Sensory Changes: Vision
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Presbyopia Loss of lens
“accommodation” Lens of eye will
not automatically adjust anymore Hold newspaper
at arm’s length Some loss of
“near” vision
Sensory Changes: Vision
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Vision Changes Pupils do not always
react normallyMore difficulty with perception
difficulty with adjusting to changes in light
Sensory Changes: Vision
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“Common” Changes Nearsighted
Can’t see far away Farsighted
Can’t see close up Astigmatism
Can cause “blurry” vision
Sensory Changes: Vision
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Decreased Dark Adaptation Not able to see well in the dark
Require much more light to see than in earlier years
Sensory Changes: Vision
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Vision: Disease or Illness Diabetic retinopathy Macular degeneration Glaucoma Changes resulting from stroke Infections
Sensory Changes: Hearing
One-third of people over age 65 have hearing loss “presbycusis”
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Sensory Changes: Hearing
Difficulty “localizing” sounds Hard to figure out where
sounds are coming from Hearing Loss is
related to loss of nerve cells & changes in inner ear
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Sensory Changes: Hearing
Difficulty especially with loss of hearing high frequency sounds Interferes with hearing and
understanding what people are saying Especially hard to hear “sh”, “s”, “f” Can really hurt communication !
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Sensory Changes: Smell & Taste Sense of smell:
“normal” decrease after age 60
Serious change in ability to detect smells after age 80 Can interfere with nutrition as part of taste
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Sensory Changes: Smell & Taste
Can be a safety hazard if not able to detect toxic smells SmokeFood that has “gone bad” or spoiled
Other fumesCaring for our Elders: Sensory Changes 1.2
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Sensory Changes: Taste
Does not decrease as much as the sense of smell
Need more concentrated flavors Decreased number of “taste
buds” Decreased saliva
Saliva contains amylase which helps with recognition of “sweet” tastes
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Sensory Changes: Touch
Decreased or Increased sensitivity to touch & pressure
Anything that interferes with the nervous system can affect the sense of touch
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Sensory Changes: Proprioception
Decreased “automatic” sense of position of the body and the parts of the body Depends on
“information” from the inner ear, along with information from the joints and ligaments
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Sensory Changes: Proprioception
“Proprioception” As with touch perception, anything that interferes with the nervous system can interfere with proprioception
Very important in sense of balance !!Falls are a serious problem !!!
Prevention of falls important!!!
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Sensory Changes: Pain
Perception of pain can be either increased or decreased
Depends on many things Must be assessed for each
person IMPORTANT to manage pain to
prevent depression, inactivity, loss of independence in ADL’s
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