The effects of aging are much the same for all visual tasks.
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Some visual abilities decline significantly more with increasing
age than do others. Tasks that involve perceiving objects that
are dimly lit, moving, or masked by other stimuli become considerably
more difficult after middle age.
Locating a target object in a field of distracting stimuli becomes
more difficult after about age 60. In general, the effects of aging
are more pronounced on visual tasks that are more complicated.
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The majority of elderly adults suffer such serious hearing deterioration
that they have considerable difficulty perceiving speech and loud
sounds.
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Hearing is the sense most affected by aging, and there is some
indication that the population of the United States is becoming
increasingly hard of hearing.
This is in part because of long-term exposure to intense noise
such as loud industrial machinery. But serious hearing impairments
are the exception rather than the rule, especially among those
who obtain regular hearing checkups after middle age.
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Because of age-related changes in our sensory system, older
people are likely to have more pain than younger people.
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There is no strong evidence that age itself affects pain sensitivity.
However, the frequency and intensity of chronic pain is higher
among older persons because of chronic health conditions associated
with aging.
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