Understanding people's struggles is vital to enabling the patient to have the most meaningful improvement to their vision. A person with impaired vision who still wishes to drive can talk to their eye doctor about getting a telescope that might work and which they can use to drive if their vision is at least within the limits of the state. Enabling them to regain something that had significantly impaired their independence. When a patient undergoes a low vision evaluation, it is the low vision optometrists job to explain that while they may not be able to see clearly with regular glasses, that does not mean that they are unable to regain visual function in a way that allows them to do many of the tasks that they no longer are able to achieve. When it comes to driving, which is one of the more common goals of low vision patients, they oftentimes can use more specialized devices to get the vision required to drive. Even though these enhancements may not be the perfect pair of glasses that people always strive for, they can actually increase their independence to a point where they can do things on their own. Recognizing the limitations of the vision and then enhancing the vision that they have is also part of it.
Why can’t one pair of glasses solve every problem?
Each low vision device is optimized for a specific situation because of the way optics work. A pair of low vision reading glasses will help with reading but are not maximizing the patient's vision for other tasks like driving. While a pair of bioptic telescopes will help with driving, they will not help with reading. This is because the optics are designed for a specific focal distance and magnification, meaning that they will enable the patient to achieve major improvements to their daily functional vision for a specific use case. While many patients come in thinking that there is one pair of glasses that will fix everything, it is the low vision optometrist's job to explain that for someone with vision loss, there is no one magic solution, but there are great solutions that will enable them to achieve specific vision goals.
What can be done if you are struggling with vision loss?
It can be problematic for someone who has a problem with their vision. Their self-esteem can be affected if they struggle so much with something they used to be able to do without a thought in the past. Their interaction with others might also be affected. A low vision examination is crucial to let your eye doctor know your struggles, because they want to help, and as a rehabilitation service, they work on those goals to enable you to regain the independence and enjoyment from the tasks and goals that were no longer available to you after vision loss. It may not be perfect vision but it would be enough for the patient to allow them to do what they love and want to do without seeking assistance from others.
