Happy Fourth of July!

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for the Fourth of July fireworks to light up the sky. The colors were beautiful and the sounds were fantastic and frightening all at once. Now that I’m older, I still enjoy the fireworks. And every time I see a display, I appreciate that aging hasn’t robbed me of my senses of sight and hearing.

But the truth is that you can’t stop the clock on aging. And the first signs that you’re getting older are most often vision and hearing loss. Here’s what you can do to slow the process:

Save your sight

·        Quit smoking. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing age-related cataracts, so quit. Now.

·        Grab a hat and sunglasses every time you head outside. Sun exposure triples your risk of cataracts—and it’s so easy to avoid!

·        See your eye doctor at least once a year so your doctor can detect symptoms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD initially causes blurry vision, but can lead to a severe reduction in vision.

Sound advice

If you have three or more of the following symptoms, you should see your doctor ASAP to determine why things aren’t sounding clear as a bell:

·        Trouble hearing when there is distracting noise in the background

·        Difficulty following a conversation

·        Having to strain to understand when someone else speaks

·        Mistaking the normal speech of other people as mumbling

·        Misunderstanding what others are saying

·        Frequently having to ask people to repeat themselves

·        Complaints from other folks that the TV volume is too high

·        Hearing a ringing or hissing sound frequently

Your doctor will be sure to have suggestions for what you can do to keep your vision, hearing (and memory, hair, and teeth, too, for that matter!)—so you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the Fourth of July for years and years to come!