FAU Advanced Health Assessment Practice Test

What change in elderly patients' vision is characterized by difficulty seeing nearby objects?

1. Near-sightedness

2. Blurring of near vision

3. Perception of colors

4. Difficulty seeing at night

The correct answer is: Blurring of near vision

The correct answer is characterized by the condition known as presbyopia, which is a common change in vision associated with aging. As people get older, the lens of the eye becomes less flexible, making it more challenging to focus on nearby objects. This leads to symptoms such as needing to hold reading materials further away or struggling to see things clearly up close. Blurring of near vision captures this phenomenon accurately, as it describes the specific difficulty in focusing on close-range visual information. In contrast, near-sightedness pertains to a refractive error that primarily affects distance vision rather than the focus on nearby objects. The perception of colors typically remains stable with age, although some may experience slight variations, but this does not specifically address issues with nearby vision. Difficulty seeing at night, while a concern for some elderly individuals possibly due to conditions such as cataracts or decreased overall light sensitivity, is also not directly related to the inability to see nearby objects.