Have a loved one, 67 year old male who has gotten snippety and short tempered over the years. you cant even ask him about the day or about the sky being blue without him getting real short tempered and stuttering out of frustration. what is this?

The answer is buried between the ears of this person. It is not simply age. It can be a sign of unrecognized ailments, emotional turmoil form one or several sources. It may be worth a family council with all the stakeholders to decide when and how to confront the person and push them to seek a full evaluation.

Would strongly urge a full-scale cognitive-emotional evaluation, as this could be the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. It is now well-known that depression and anxiety can proceed full recognition of memory issues 2-3 years in advance. Getting the family member to the assessment may be a major undertaking. Enlist all who are involved.