Changes in Vision: A Fact Sheet on Aging

Vision Changes:

Farsightedness – inability to see close objects clearly; loss of elasticity of lens
Sensitivity to light and glare – “night blindness”
Visual activity or clarity – lose gradually with age
Color vision – changes in filtering
Cataracts – 95 percent of all cataract surgery is successful
Blindness – glaucoma, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes

Vision difficulties may produce these behaviors:

Coordination difficulties (buttoning, finding food on a plate)
Tunnel vision (positioning of objects seemingly ignored)
Visual hallucinations – rapidly move at edge of vision field
Squinting
Color selection – bright over dull colored objects
Uncontrolled eye movement
Depth perception – spilling food or drink
Inability to copy
Difficulty distinguishing an object from its background

Actions you may take:

Position objects in vision field
Position objects consistently
Label objects
Simplify visual field
Use bright colors
Give verbal indication of actions
Provide compensators – taste, smell, etc.

Adapted from Sensitizing People to the Processes of Aging: The In-Service Educator’s Guide by Marvin Ernst and Herbert Shore, Dallas Geriatric Research Institute, 1977. Distributed by: Judith L. Warren, Ph.D., Extension Program Leader and Professor and Extension Gerontology Specialist, Family Development and Resource Management, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. 1995.

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Last updated: 16 September, 2009

Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.