Eyesight and memory how bad is yours

[Deathwish]

Over the years my eyesight has got rather bad, 5 years ago I used to be able to read a resistor just by looking at its colour bands in situ, now reds look like oranges, capacitor values look like a blur and as for reading a service sheet, forget it unless I have a 20X magnifying glass at hand, these days without one it looks like a pigeon has been walking around on paper leaving a trail of dirty footprints. I used to repair old CRT TV sets, I hated Sony chassis's and some others, had a large stock of BU508A's at hand and other sundries and recall building a CRT tester/rejuvenator from scratch, of having massive boxes of Eproms and Chassis service sheets as well as other goodies but nowadays I have no recollection of where all of it went, it is like they just magically disappeared. How on earth can you lose a fluke 77 and a philips PM3217 scope, I did !. These days I look at my 32" TV and wonder if I could fettle my scope into that so I can get a good look at the damned wave forms properly, so how bad is your memory and eyesight these days. Oh and yes I do wear glasses...... now.

[technix]

I am 22 so well I am still young.

I have 20/20 vision, maybe better. Visual inspection on a 0.5mm pin pitch TQFP-100 or QFN-48? That is a bare eyes job, no microscope thank you.

My memory is okay - common devices' make and model, pinout and important characteristics, I had it all memorized.

[BradC]

I had pretty good eye sight until recently. The doc used to get me to read the bottom line on the eye chart and I would read off the manufacturers name and address (about 1/3rd the size of the official bottom line). I can't do that anymore, but I don't miss it by much.

I recently had my eyes tested and I still have 20/20 vision, but (and it's a big and very common but) my eye motor muscles are deteriorating such that I can't properly focus on near field objects any more as I can't converge my eye balls sufficiently.
I have exercises to do (which I do), but the fact is to get as close up as I used to I have to close one eye. I recently turned 41. Things started going down hill about a year ago. I have a head-band magnifier, and a mag lamp on my desk to mitigate this.

On the other hand, I was told my hearing is still exceptional for a 25 year old. I've played in bands for the last 20 years, but I've always worn ear plugs and really looked after my ears. Having said that, I now understand the phrase "if it's too loud, you are too old". Sound levels that I used to routinely brush off now actually cause discomfort. I understand the physiological reasons for this, but it's interesting to actually observe the behavior in your own ears.

My memory is still ok. I find the older I get the more I've grown accustomed to producing accurate and detailed documentation and taking general notes so I don't tend to suffer the memory issues as bad as some of my mates. I still lose my sunglasses and keys with monotonous regularity, but I've been doing that since I was a teenager so it's all consistently normal.

As I routinely tell my 95 year old Grandfather. Getting old is a bugger, but it's better than the alternative.

[KJDS]

I'm approaching 50. My hearing was last tested 15 years ago and had a 30dB impairment centered on 1kHz. It's got worse since then.
I need glasses to correct my longsight, and reading glasses as my eye muscles won't focus close in with my ordinary glasses.

My memory still works, except when the girlfriend asks me to do something during the day whilst she's out at work.

[Mechanical Menace]

The only time I ever had my hearing tested was when the ex wife would ask for more money...

 

I actually have real selective deafness, my range is brilliant but there are loads of frequencies spread all over where I'm practically or actually deaf, unfortunately mainly within the human vocal range, unfortunately mainly within the typical female talking range...

[Tandy]

The memory function works well on my Keysight scope, although I can't use all the features as I don't remember where I put the manual.

[Howardlong]

I am 50, and my eyesight is sadly deteriorating, at my aviation medical a few weeks ago I finally found I have to wear specs for distance vision only when flying, although I already had prescription bifocals to correct for that anyway.

I have also finally invested in bifocal "readers" too just a few days ago after trying the cheap non-prescriptions, and boy what a difference that makes. The reader bifocals are tuned to my desktop monitor when looking ahead, and short sight when looking down and boards and what not. I can actually read package markings on QFNs without a magnifier now.

Hearing's OK although I think I'm a bit cloth eared, I have enormous difficulty in holding conversations in noisy pubs, especially those with music, so I simply don't go to those sorts of pubs. I am pretty sure I am not alone in that regard, it's beyond me why you'd want to go somewhere where you need to shout to attempt to make conversation, although I suspect it's not about conversation, it's probably more about being lonely and drunk judging by the state of some of those come 11pm.

Memory is OK, although I do have the odd frustrating lapse. The usual thing is walking from one room to another to get something only to realise that you've forgotten what it is you went in there for. Or trying to deal with a mental shopping list with more than two or three items, I just have to write it down! But I don't forget things like where I parked the car. Occasionally I do forget that I have a part in stock. The other day I thought I'd run out of 7805's, which is strange because when I get low on jellybean parts I always start to place an order. Of course, after the order was placed, I found a tube of a dozen or so that I'd put in one of those "special places" that I always forget about.

[Tandy]

The blow air in your eye test is very important as it measures the pressure in your eye to test for Glaucoma that can result in blindness.

Prescription glasses can be ordered so cheap on-line these days that there is no reason really not to go regularly and update your prescription. I can work without glasses but if I don't use them for extended periods I get a headache. I'm sure people who don't have an up-to-date prescription will have the same problem where you can compensate for the prescription not being quite right anymore but it causes uncomfortable eye strain.

Some places where you can get prescription glasses cheap are Glasses Direct, Goggles4u, Specky Four Eyes.

[JackP]

He's written a post about this somewhere.

[Tandy]

I have added a link in my signature to the EEVBlog post that I made about Tandy as it is something that frequently comes up.

Taking it back on topic I hope that the small text in the signature is readable 

[BradC]

The blow air in your eye test is very important as it measures the pressure in your eye to test for Glaucoma that can result in blindness.

I have a pretty bad vasovagal response and that test resulted in me passing out in the opticians chair. Much amusement.

[GreyWoolfe]

Vision has always been an issue for me.  I have been wearing glasses since the 3rd grade.  I have ambyopia and astigmatisms in both eyes.  I just got new glasses with digital progressive lenses-what a bib difference.  I can read transistors and dip package ICs again.  I do have hearing loss in both ears and have behind the ear hearing aids, but one of the dogs go ahold of 1 and chewed the end that goes into the ear-I need to get a replacement for that.  As for memory, uh, what were we talking about?  The older I get, the worse it seems to get.  I am in my late 50's now and my wife jokes about me calling her baby because I can't remember her name.  She says she wants to get me memory pills but she's afraid I won't remember to take them.

[G7PSK]

My eye sight is getting progressively longer these days,Without glasses I can see the surface of the moon better than when looking through binoculars but cannot read what is on the TV with varifocal glasses I have no problems though. Hearing is still OK, clocks ticking still drive me mad. I am 62 by the way.

[lapm]

Im 40. Still have 20/20 vision but age starts to have it effects. Eyes adapt slower now.

Somehow despite fact i work at very noisy factory enviroment i have still perfect hearing and yes they did say its rare these days..

My memory, well that has better and worse days. And topic of what needs to remember seems have effect.

[Dave Turner]

My eyesight started deteriorating in my mid forties after a lifetime of close work; though whether that was part of the cause is moot.

First was a need for progressively longer and longer arms. That I expected. Unfortunately it's getting to the stage  when I need specs for long distance too. Also having worn occupational glasses (optimised for 2 focal lengths - Computer screen and reading letters etc). When stargazing (another hobby) I see 2 images slightly overlapping one above the other. It's very irritating.

As for my ears they still in excellent condition. The only issue is that they are highly sensitive over a wide frequency range but not particularly selective. Dependent on conditions I can often hear what is being said on the other side of pub easier than I can the person right by me. Years ago I could often hear a computer in trouble on the other side of the office before the user realised it.

[Rick Law]

Over the years my eyesight has got rather bad, 5 years ago I used to be able to read a resistor just by looking at its colour bands in situ, now reds look like oranges...
...
...

So as to compare notes, you need to know my age.  I am just a tiny bit over 60.

Vision:

I started having near-sight in my early 40's and need glasses to read street names (~3 inches tall characters ~8-10cm).  Prior to that, I had very sharp vision.  I could read license plate numbers (character height about 6-10cm) from 20+ meters away.  At 40, I had no problem reading 1/4W or 1/8W resistor color codes when I was back into playing with EE for a couple of month.

I started having far-sighted as well in my early 50's.  Not bad enough to need it and I resisted reading glasses.  As I got near 60, reading resistor color code without magnification became impossible.  The color of the lighting has a great impact.  I hate those warm-white LED/CFL lights since they made seeing the proper color impossible.  I have to finally submit to wearing reading glasses near 60.  My best upgrade to improve my soldering was not the soldering station - it was my reading glasses.  Now I can actually see the wire.

My vision hasn't deteriorate at a noticeable way in the last couple of years - it was at early 50 when it deteriorated noticeably.  One thing I must guard against is getting too used to the reading glass.  From the near-sight glasses wearing experience, it is true that the more you wear glasses, the more you need it and the stronger the glasses you need.

Memory

It has not got worst but different.  Now I have to make a point of remembering something then I will remember it as well as I did.  If I don't make a point to remember something, I could forget mere moments later.  Then again, may be it was that way all along and I forgot...

As has been said, grow old isn't for wimps.  I am now fighting off a neck strain – every turn of the head pulls the muscle and it hurts like hell.  Stuff like that used to recover very quickly.  With age, it seems to take forever to get better.

[Dave Turner]

On the memory issue - I always remember faces but putting names to them has often been a problem.

As far as data goes - unless I'm consistently using it I don't remember the detail - however I do remember the fact that something has to be considered/remembered. This is what experience is about; the warning in the back of the mind that something isn't right, without being a block to forward thinking.

[SL4P]

Well, I seem to be invisible, and no-one remembers me --- so I guess I fit the ticket!

[DrGeoff]

If you have myopia and are over 50 then you should see an opthalmologist once a year to have your retina checked. I almost lost the sight in one eye due to a sudden tear in the retina (on a public holiday) which resulted in a significant retinal detachment. It can go from fine to blind in only a day or two.

[GreyWoolfe]

One other thing I forgot to add is that I also have a minor depth perception problem.  I have been teaching a basic soldering class for my ham radio club and the students had a bit of a laugh during my demonstration of repairing large broken traces.  I was trying to tin the braided wire I was using as the jumper (what I had on hand) and I kept missing the wire with either the solder or the iron.   I eventually got the wire tinned and continued on with the class.  The other funny was trying to strip the finish off of very thin magnet or wire wrap (no markings on the spool) wire for small trace repair (again, what I had).  I was trying to do it with my iron and ended up using an X-Acto knife and pulling it between the knife and my thumb to scrape it clean.  I don't have issues soldering to a pcb, only trying to tin wires.

[nanofrog]

• Eyesight: I've one eye that is nearsighted, the other farsighted, and an astigmatism in both. Makes things ... a bit interesting without glasses (use one pair for distance, the other for reading). 
• Memory: I'm having issues with recall (word on the tip-of-my-tongue type of thing, as well as forgetting something on a memorized list, like grocery shopping or ordering components).
• Motor Control: Shaking hands.
• Hearing: Is excellent actually.

FWIW, I'm in my mid 40's.

[miguelvp]

Other than eyesight degraded a bit on my mid 40s but then they got stable, so I got glasses instead of squinting around. But I can still pass the driving license test (just last year) without glasses, but I need reading glasses or I really have to squint a lot to check messages in my phone without glasses.

For example I can still read a 22 inch monitor set at 1920x1080 at 2 feet distance if I squint enough, but forget about dinner menus without enough light on a restaurant, but with glasses I'm just fine.

Memory is fine, actually my wife and kids always rely on me to tell them where they left stuff, because for some reason I have not only a good abstract memory but also a goo visual one (despite the eyesight). But being a programmer and having to remember projects I worked many years ago is kind of been my life so I guess I get enough refresh cycles to keep my mind sharp.

Motor control is fine as well but I work making video games so I guess I have more training than the norm, at least as on reflexes and muscle memory goes.

As for hearing, well I can really perceive high frequency noises more and more, to the point that I start hauling before my dogs do, kidding on that one, they know someone is coming even if there are people walking down our street all the time, they know when someone is actually coming to our house at least 20 feet before they reach the front of our house (busy Chicago street).

I hate sleeping, I like to do things all the time, if i'm working in something that is interesting I can stay up 2 or 3 days in a row, or with very few sleep like just two hours a night, I've always been able to do that.

I don't go out often but when I do I'll stay until 4am or more if I was allowed to. No problems breaking in the dance floor or singing karaoke and drinking anyone under the table, but I noticed my hangovers last almost one day instead of a few hours. Must be the liver is not working full time and letting more alcohol in my system. But I just need to drink water and take a couple of hours nap and I'm as good as new.

So, not everyone on their 50s are falling apart.

[German_EE]

I started wearing spectacles for near field when I was about 40 and switched to varifocal lenses to cover nearly all of my vision needs at 50. I do however have one pair of spectacles in the workshop with 9,0 diopter lenses in them, this gives a 15cm focal length and I can read text on even the smallest surface mount devices.

My memory is fine as I always keep my mind occupied with the technical minutiae of the geek lifestyle, useful for when the girlfriend is out shopping for clothes or shoes. 

[tggzzz]

My eyesight started deteriorating in my mid forties after a lifetime of close work; though whether that was part of the cause is moot.

When I mentioned to my doctor that, in my mid 40s, I started needing reading glasses, his response was "right on schedule".

[tggzzz]

As has been said, grow old isn't for wimps.  I am now fighting off a neck strain – every turn of the head pulls the muscle and it hurts like hell.  Stuff like that used to recover very quickly.  With age, it seems to take forever to get better.

I'm reading a pleasantly short and terse book "Travels with Epicurus: Meditations from a Greek Island on the Pleasures of Old Age" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Travels-Epicurus-Meditations-Island-Pleasures/dp/1780744129/

It makes the useful distinction between "old" and "old old". With the right attitude, the former can be pleasant and rewarding. The latter is best avoided.