Tara’s grandmother is 70 years old and has a passion for embroidery. She faces difficulty in threading the needle as the eye of the needle appears blurred. The ophthalmologist diagnosed it as an age-related disorder.
Name the eye disorder she is suffering from.
Topic: Presbyopia
Answer
PRESBYOPIA (old-age long-sightedness).
Two clues in the question point to presbyopia and neither can be ignored: she is SEVENTY, and the difficulty is with something held CLOSE (the eye of a needle).
THE CAUSE: with age the eye lens loses its elasticity and the ciliary muscles weaken, so the lens can no longer bulge enough to focus on near objects. The power of accommodation is lost.
THE TRAP is answering HYPERMETROPIA. The symptoms are almost identical — both make near objects blurred — but the causes differ: HYPERMETROPIA — the eyeball is too SHORT, or the lens too flat. Can occur at any age. PRESBYOPIA — the lens has HARDENED with age. An age-related disorder, which is exactly what the question says the doctor diagnosed. The word itself tells you: presby- means "old man".