THE NEW YORK TIMES – My lower teeth have grown a lot more crooked over the last few years. This is a surprise. They were once perfectly straight, thanks to braces that stayed on throughout three ungainly middle school years.
Are there other surprising ways we change as we get older? What’s considered normal, and what isn’t? I went to the experts.
Your voice may change.
As adults age, their vocal cords often become thinner and less supple, and they may not close as firmly, said Dr. Ted Mau, director of the voice center at UT Southwestern Medical Center. As a result, your voice can become weaker or raspier.
Age can affect men’s and women’s voices in different ways, Dr. Mau added. Some men may find that as they grow older, their voices go up in pitch, he said.
“So for some men, while they used to have a deep, sonorous voice, their voice may not sound that deep and full as they age,” Dr. Mau said. Meanwhile, he said, hormonal changes in older women may cause their voices to lower.
If changes in your voice affect your well-being, or you have abrupt voice changes, such as sudden hoarseness that persists for more than several weeks, Dr. Mau recommends visiting an ear, nose and throat doctor.
You’ll shrink (and keep shrinking).
Most people get shorter as they age, starting around the age of 40. But research shows that men and women lose height differently: By age 70, men will lose an average of one inch, while women closer to two inches.
And after 80? The same research suggests that you’ll probably drop another inch.
There are several reasons we shrink as we get older, said Ardeshir Hashmi, a section chief of the Center for Geriatric Medicine at Cleveland Clinic …
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