You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. Second, if your two eyes are very different in the amount of “refractive error” (i.e. the strength of the glasses prescription), it is not uncommon for the weaker of the two eyes to never develop quite normally. Once the brain sees the best image through the lower prescription eye, it tends to ignore the other eye, so it may never develop the ability to fully distance vision (20/20). It`s called amblyopia, often referred to as “lazy eye” (although I think the latter term offends the worst-eye work ethic). For more information on definitions of statutory blindness, see Assessment of Disability in Social Security, a publication of the Social Security Administration. Visual impairment is a visual acuity of 20/40 or more when wearing corrective lenses. Eye trauma or injury and genetic diseases, such as Usher syndrome, can also lead to legal blindness. Another way of looking at it: if someone with 20/20 vision is standing next to a legally blind person, the legally blind person should approach up to 20 feet to see an object from 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. Visual acuity refers to a person`s proximity to an object 20 feet away to see it in detail. Normal vision is measured at 20/20. If you had a visual acuity of 20/80, it would mean that you would be able to see details from 20 feet away, just like a person with 20/20 or normal vision from 80 feet away. But what does it mean to have poor eyesight? Is it just that your vision is blurry or unclear? Legally, it must be caused by eye disease and reduce your visual acuity to at least 20/70.
This means that to see what most people can see from 70 feet away, you need to be as close as 20 feet. In other words, you can hardly read the 3rd row from the top of Snellen`s eyeboard (or the chart you read at the ophthalmologist with all the letters). Although you may have poor eyesight, are you really blind within the meaning of the law? There is a legal definition of who and what is considered blind or even “visually impaired”. Are you nearby? Can you get extra benefits from your low eyesight? Striem-Amit E, Gen M, Amedi A. “Visual acuity of congenital blind persons by visual sensory substitution for auditory. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33136. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033136 The state of legal blindness is determined when you wear your last glasses.
There is no such thing as legal blindness “with glasses removed”. There is also no legal blindness in one eye. Legal blindness, by definition, is based on the best corrected visual acuity of the eye that sees better. Visual acuity of 20/20 is considered “perfect vision” because no help is needed to see better, and the average person with good vision can clearly see what doctors have determined to be 20/20 vision. Some people (especially young people with good eyes) may see letters smaller than the overall size “20/20”. If a person has a field of view of only 20 degrees, they can see things that are right in front of them without moving their eyes from side to side, but they can`t see anything to one side or the other (peripheral vision). A 180-degree field of view is considered normal. A severely restricted field of view is sometimes referred to as tunnel vision. It is almost impossible to drive safely. Like visual impairment, there are many different definitions of visual impairment.
“Visual impairment” is a broad term that describes a wide range of visual functions, from visual impairment to complete blindness. An estimated 1.1 million Americans are legally blind. Certain conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, and macular degeneration, can affect your vision to the point where you can be diagnosed with the disease. A legally blind person with 20/200 vision (with the best corrective lenses) would have to be 20 feet away from an object to see it, and someone with 20/20 vision could see it from 200 feet away. It varies from person to person. You may be able to see objects from a distance, but not from the sides of your eyes (peripheral vision). Or you may have good peripheral vision but difficulty seeing objects in the distance. Blind people are “legally blind,” but some people who can see with strong eyeglasses say they are legally blind without their glasses. This means that without glasses, they might not see well enough to see certain things, drive, etc. Visual acuity below 20/200 is considered blind under the law, but to truly fit the definition, the person must not be able to achieve 20/200 vision, even with prescription glasses.
Many people who would be legally blind without glasses can function well in everyday life with proper glasses or contact lenses. Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. A person with a visual impairment has difficulty performing ordinary tasks with vision – even with the best glasses or contact lenses. Part 1 of the U.S. definition of legal blindness says this about visual acuity: Here is a definition of visual impairment that refers to visual acuity: Visually impaired optical, non-optical, and electronic magnifying devices can allow you to perform a variety of daily tasks, including There are many conditions that can cause legal blindness, But the most common are age-related eye diseases.
