Can you smell the roses?

I knew that your senses change as you age, but I didn’t realize the extent of the changes that could occur.

For example, even though I’m not a senior citizen, I’ve been wearing reading glasses for years.  And this week, when we had an activity at a nursing home, we were helping some residents work on crafts.  One resident had forgotten to bring her glasses to the activity room.  As a result, she wasn’t able to work on her craft.  It’s surprising how much a simple thing like forgetting your glasses can keep you from doing things that you want to do.

We’ve learned that as you age, you might have trouble tasting saltiness in foods.  Once, my father-in-law was having barbecue at our house.  He wanted to add more barbecue sauce.  When he reached into the refrigerator, he didn’t realize that he accidentally took chocolate sauce instead of barbecue sauce.  He put it on his barbecue, and even as he continued eating, he didn’t notice what he had done.

Smell can also be affected by aging.  Sometimes I’ll comment to my mother that I smell something, and she doesn’t smell it and isn’t aware of it at all.

Most people are aware of how common it is for senior citizens to have hearing loss.  Very often, when working at the nursing home, we need to stand in a certain position where the residents could hear us more easily, and we need to be sure to speak clearly.

The following Web site offers info about aging and sensory changes.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/22030/23724/347117.html?d=dmtContent

Often, by the time we have time to stop and smell the roses, it’s hard to smell them!