Unfortunately, the eyes, like much of the rest of the body, become more susceptible to disease and other issues as we get older. Some problems are serious and can lead to blindness, if left untreated. But for people with hearing loss, even a small decrease in vision can affect the ability to lip-read and thus understand better what they hear.

Vision is a critical aspect of many jobs. Whether an employee’s occupation involves driving, visual inspection and quality control, sorting by color or making critical life and death decisions, vision can be very important to safe and effective job performance.

Larry Hester was 33 years old when he got horrible news, according to a report produced by WebMD and ABC News, and broadcast on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”