Clinical Medical-Surgical Practice Exam

Age-related sensory change is being tested here, focusing on what commonly happens as people reach advanced age. In older adults, both the eyes and the ears are prone to gradual decline. The eye’s lens stiffens and accommodation decreases, and many develop conditions like cataracts or macular changes, leading to diminished vision. The inner ear also undergoes degenerative changes, especially in the hair cells and neural pathways, resulting in presbycusis—hearing loss that often worsens with age. Taken together, diminished vision and hearing loss are typical in a 68-year-old. The other options don’t fit typical aging patterns: night vision does not improve with age and may worsen; taste tends to decline rather than increase; skin generally becomes thinner and less elastic rather than thicker or more elastic.