Degradation is slow enough to normalize. That is the danger.
You adapt to declining vision and hearing without noticing. By the time you notice, significant capacity is already gone.
Holding phone further away. Squinting at monitors. Gradual = easy to ignore.
Especially in noisy environments. Early hearing loss signal.
End-of-day headaches from screen work. Prescription may have changed.
Difficulty driving at night. Could be normal aging or early cataract.
This is not aspirational. This is the minimum viable maintenance schedule. Everything above this is upside.
| Cadence | Action |
|---|---|
| Daily | 20-20-20 rule: every 20min, look 20ft away for 20 seconds. |
| Weekly | Screen brightness and ergonomic position audit. |
| Annually | Eye exam. Hearing test after age 40 or if any signal appears. |
| As needed | Blue light glasses if screen strain persists despite breaks. |
Cadence: Annual eye exam. Hearing baseline at 40.
Trigger: Sudden vision change, tinnitus onset, ear pain, significant difficulty in noisy environments
Sudden vision changes (floaters, flashes, loss of peripheral vision) are medical emergencies. Do not wait for an appointment. ER.
Maintaining this department doesn't just prevent failure. It compounds into measurable gains.
Pick one signal. Make it visible. Track it for 30 days. That is the entire protocol.
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