“First hunger and then thirst are lost. Speech is lost next, followed by vision. The last senses to go are usually hearing and touch.”
But scientists think that, as we die, our senses begin to check out. Our sense of smell and taste go, touch and sight disappear. For years, scientists believed hearing was the final sense to go — our last connection to this Earth the voices of our loved ones.
The first organ system to “close down” is the digestive system. Digestion is a lot of work! In the last few weeks, there is really no need to process food to build new cells.
Sight comes first, because the eye is such a specialized organ. Then come hearing, touch, smell, and taste, progressively less specialized senses.
If and when the person becomes unconscious they may not be able to respond to you, however, they will still be aware of your presence and voices around them. Studies indicate that hearing is the last of the senses to be lost.
The brain and nerve cells require a constant supply of oxygen and will die within a few minutes, once you stop breathing. The next to go will be the heart, followed by the liver, then the kidneys and pancreas, which can last for about an hour. Skin, tendons, heart valves and corneas will still be alive after a day.
One of the wildest innovations is “living funerals.” You can attend a dry run of your own funeral, complete with casket, mourners, funeral procession, etc. You can witness the lavish proceedings without having an “out-of-body” experience, just an “out-of-disposable-income” experience.
They concluded that the dying brain responds to sound tones even during an unconscious state and that hearing is the last sense to go in the dying process.
Taste is a sensory function of the central nervous system, and is considered the weakest sense in the human body.
Vision is often thought of as the strongest of the senses. That's because humans tend to rely more on sight, rather than hearing or smell, for information about their environment. Light on the visible spectrum is detected by your eyes when you look around.
Visual or auditory hallucinations are often part of the dying experience. The appearance of family members or loved ones who have died is common. These visions are considered normal. The dying may turn their focus to “another world” and talk to people or see things that others do not see.
Gasping is also referred to as agonal respiration and the name is appropriate because the gasping respirations appear uncomfortable, causing concern that the patient is dyspnoeic and in agony.
In time, the heart stops and they stop breathing. Within a few minutes, their brain stops functioning entirely and their skin starts to cool. At this point, they have died.
A conscious dying person can know if they are on the verge of dying. Some feel immense pain for hours before dying, while others die in seconds. This awareness of approaching death is most pronounced in people with terminal conditions such as cancer.
Seven in ten (70%) say they would miss their sense of sight. Other Americans say they would miss the ability to hear (7%) most, followed by their sense of taste (5%), touch (3%), and lastly, smell (2%). While most say that one's vision would be missed most if lost, the extent to which they say so varies with age.
Senses that humans don't have
There are some senses that are only found in the animal world. Electroception – the ability to feel electrical fields around us. Sharks can detect electrical fields in their environment, including those emitted by prey it cannot necessarily see.
Research estimates that eighty to eighty-five percent of our perception, learning, cognition, and activities are mediated through vision.
Once the death has been verified, if there is a mortuary at the hospice or hospital, the person's body may be moved to the mortuary, or if there is no mortuary on site, the funeral director will collect their body.
In the days before death, a series of physiological changes will occur. Their pulmonary system will start to degrade and the will become congested, leading to a tell-tale “death rattle.” Their breathing will also exhibit fluctuations, as they may begin to respirate up to 50 times per minute or as little as six.
The senses that protect the individual from external and internal perturbations through a contact delivery of information to the brain include the five senses, the proprioception, and the seventh sense—immune input. The peripheral immune cells detect microorganisms and deliver the information to the brain.
Muscle cells live on for several hours. Bone and skin cells can stay alive for several days. It takes around 12 hours for a human body to be cool to the touch and 24 hours to cool to the core. Rigor mortis commences after three hours and lasts until 36 hours after death.