Memory loss is classified into categories that include sudden, short-term, long-term, permanent and temporal loss. Other types of loss include "forgetting" as well as temporary and permanent amnesia. Nearly two-thirds of people over age 50 will experience some form of memory loss as they grow older, according to Aaron P. Nelson, chief of neuropsychology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Signs of memory loss may be overt or subtle.
Forgetting
Forgetting information that was recently learned is one early sign of Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Everyone forgets an occasional name or telephone number, but regular loss to recall newly learned information at a later time is a reason for concern, the association warns.
Confusion
Confusion involves difficulty remembering a location and/or place. This type of memory loss includes the inability to place an event into a time period other than the present. Everyone has experienced a moment of memory loss after doing a routine task that is so familiar it becomes rote, such as driving a regular route and arriving at a location without remembering all of the details. If this happens often, however, it is a sign that something is wrong, according to studies by the Alzheimer's Association.
Vocabulary
Experiencing frequent troubles with vocabulary selection is also a sign of serious memory loss. This does not include a momentary block of an appropriate word during conversation, but includes calling items by incorrect names, such as referring to the clock on the wall as "face watch," or another words that describe the function of the item, rather than the proper name.
Decision-Making Skills
This describes the repeated inability to use past knowledge to make important judgments. When individuals with sound financial judgment begin making poor economic decisions, such as giving large amounts of money away, this is a sign that they have lost the ability to relate remembered information to present conditions.
Lost Items
Frequently misplacing items is another sign of memory loss. This does not include occasional loss of car keys or other items, but it is an area of concern when a person is unable to remember handling the item, or thinks the item was stolen by a third party.
Problem Solving
Early signs of memory loss in solving problems or meeting planning needs may lead to greater problems. Using financial figures, working with numbers, losing concentration, and taking an extremely long time to do tasks that formerly took little time are all signs of memory loss related to analytical tasks. This memory loss is sometimes evident when doing recreational activities that use memory skills, such as puzzles or board games.
Process
Inability to understand a simple process, such as how to use a common household device, is another sign of severe memory loss. A person forgetting how the television remote works after using it for years is one example. These reactions may become more frequent and begin to apply to other common objects around the house or workplace as the memory loss increases.
