Abstract:
Significant physiologic changes such as hearing, vision, smell, and taste occur in our bodies as a part of normal aging. While the literature is replete with information on normal aging changes, there is a paucity of literature on normal aging changes in the African American population, specifically, African American females. The purpose of this research was to investigate the aforementioned senses in community dwelling African American females in Valdosta/Lowndes areas. Forty females ranging in ages from 22-83 participated in the study. Results revealed that there was no significant correlation between age and perceptual changes (i.e. vision, hearing, taste, and smell). However, there was a significant correlation between age and changes in the oropharyngeal mechanism.