As you get older, your eyes change. Although some issues grow more widespread as you get older, they can afflict anyone at any age. Presbyopia is a condition in which the lens of the eye gets less flexible and less able to thicken as one ages, making it less able to focus on surrounding things. With age, the number of mucous cells in the conjunctiva may decline. Tear production may decline with age, resulting in less tears available to keep the eye's surface wet. Dry eyes are more common in older adults due to both of these changes.