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Page 4 Senior Times - February 2026Batt el Creek Housing Commiss oi nSENIOR HOUSINGThe Battle Creek Housing Commission Provides Seniors Comfortable Living at an Affordable Price!Cherry Hill ManorLocated at 10 Clay St.Kellogg ManorLocated at 250 Champion St.APPLY AT 250 Champion St.Monday-Friday7am-noon or 1-4pm965-0591www.battlecreekhousing.orgBATTLE CREEK HOUSING COMMISSION%u2022 One Bedroom Apartments%u2022 Located on Public Bus Line%u2022 Residents%u2019 Community Rm & Meals%u2022 Computer/Card Game Rm./Library%u2022 Parking next to Building%u2022 Antenna & Cable Options %u2022 Pet Friendly Building%u2022 Utilities included/ Online Rent Payment Option%u2022 Secured Building Entry/Brick ConstructionCHERRY HILL MANOR%u2022 Studio & One Bedroom Apartments%u2022 Located on Public Bus Line%u2022 Residents%u2019 Community Room%u2022 Some Garages Available/Pkg. Next to Bldg.%u2022 Antenna & Cable Options%u2022 Pet Friendly Building %u2022 Utilities Included/Online Rent Payment Option%u2022 Secured Building Entry/Brick ConstructionKELLOGG MANOR%u2022 Do you avoid driving at night, or even in the rain? %u2022 Have you stopped spending time in social situations because it%u2019s difficult to hear and engage in a conversation? %u2022 Does your diminishing sense of taste keep you from enjoying the full flavor of food?%u2022 Do you feel like your fingertips are always cold? %u2022 Do you regularly ask friends to repeat what they have asked or turn the volume way up on the TV? Can you relate to any of these situations? Maybe you can add to the list. Many aging adults experience fear or are uncertain about when it is time to take action. Fear of the new technology; fear of whether it will work for you; fear of the cost; fear of the procedure; fear that the recovery support is not available; fear that the complications could be greater than the struggles you are experiencing now; fear that you cannot give up a long-time habit. All are very valid concerns. Injury, chronic conditions, increased medication and supplement use, nutrition, and even age can impact our senses. Our senses change as we age, just like everything else, but the good news is that technology allows each of us to use these adaptations in ways that adjust, correct, or even enhance the changing senses. Learning what to expect can help you to decide when it%u2019s time to take action or, at the very least, to ask questions and visit your health care provider. Sight %u2013 Are reading glasses enough?Primary concerns that seem to sneak up over time include blurry vision, difficulty with glare, taking longer for eyes to adjust to changes in light, floaters, and dry eye. Each has a cause. Regular visits to your eye doctor can help you know when and why changes, including disease, will require adjustments for safe driving and other daily activities.What to expect over time: As you get older, it's harder to see in dim light. \because your pupils naturally shrink with age, so they can't let in as much light,%u201d Magdalena Bednarczyk, MD, a geriatrician at Rush University Medical Center explains. In fact, by age 60, your pupils may be only one-third of the size they were when you were 20.Much like your other body organs, the lens in the eye loses elasticity. As a result, your need for reading glasses may have become irritatingly evident to help with the blurriness and allow you to focus on reading pages that you enjoy. When focus can no longer be corrected by prescription lenses or reading glasses, and your vision seems to be cloudy, a likely culprit is cataracts. According to the Mayo Clinic, clouded vision caused by cataracts can make it more difficult to read, drive a car at night, or see the expression on a friend's face. Most cataracts develop slowly and don't disturb eyesight early on. But with time, cataracts will eventually affect vision. Other conditions of the eye that affect aging adults disproportionately include glaucoma affecting the optic nerve, and diseases of the retina such as macular degeration. Initial corrective steps may be as simple as brighter lighting. Add night lights in hallways, the bathroom, or any other place you may go to when it%u2019s dark. Motion lights can work in the same way. Increasing the size of text on your electronic devices, large print books, or even a magnifying glass can help keep you reading longer. Eye glasses can also help to deal with vision changes. Ultimately, impaired vision may lead to surgery, medication, eye injection, and more. If you are not experiencing eye problems, be sure to schedule regular visits with your eye doctor to identify challenges before you may even notice them. Hearing %u2013 Is turning up the volume enough? Primary concerns that seem to sneak up over time include difficulty with understanding speech and high-frequency sounds especially in noisy environments. Another irritating condition is characterized by a ringing or buzzing in the ears. Dizziness, vertigo, and ear infections, are more conditions that may impact your daily activities. What to expect over time: By age 60, one in three adults has some challenges with hearing. Aside from injury, likely causes are wax build up, normal wear and tear on nerve cells and tiny hairs in the inner ear that allow hearing, and long-term exposure to loud noises. If you're straining to hear, ask people to face you and speak louder without shouting. Control background noises that make hearing harder. For example, turn off the TV or lower the volume on music. Wear earplugs to help protect from loud noises, which can further harm hearing. And while age-related hearing loss often can't be reversed, you don't have to live in a world of SOLUTIONS FOR SENSES CHANGING WITH AGEBy: Sherii Sherban, Publisher