Heterophoria

[Gil]

Hello everyone,

I went to get my 1st class medical exam to see if i am healthy to fly professionally. I wear both contacts and glasses and have 20/20 corrected vision. The doctor told that I failed the line goes though which line test and he told me that it is called heterophoria (my left eye move to the right or left on a fixed object) which he said that it is not significant. I did not have this condiction when I got my first class certificate for the first time and he said that since it is a change he had to ask the FAA. He did and now he gave me a form 8500-7 to take it to my doctor to do an eye evaluation (which i am going next week) but before this, he was able to talked to my eye doctor and she told him that my case is NOT serious.

Now my question is. Is this is something I need to worry about? Would this be something that will not allow me to get a first class medical certificate?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Rushie]

Calling @lbfjrmd and @bbchien

All I can say is many a time we have had doctors say something is nothing and the FAA say something is something so you did the right thing to come here and ask. One of these two (or both) will know the answer.

 

[Gil]

Thanks so much for the reply. I forgot to mention that I do no have double vision or any eye pathology.

 

[lbfjrmd]

I personally feel that testing for phorias in any class is old school, very old school. The 8500-7 (ophthalmological evaluations) in my experience result in full medical issuance. You could take the test a day later and pass!

 

[bbchien]

I personally feel that testing for phorias in any class is old school, very old school. The 8500-7 (ophthalmological evaluations) in my experience result in full medical issuance. You could take the test a day later and pass!

Ask the ophthalmologist for a “strabismus exam”. The few things FAA want to know are:
(1) that you do not have diplopia in any field of gaze
(2) and that you are orthophoric in all fields of gaze. What your eyes do when not fixed on a gaze is something else... a tropion or a phoria.
3) if you have a fusion break he needs to describe it in “arc seconds” to the break.

I’ve had 30 diopters waived.....

 

[Gil]

Hello @lbfjrmd @bbchien

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it!

 

[Gil]

Ask the ophthalmologist for a “strabismus exam”. The few things FAA want to know are:
(1) that you do not have diplopia in any field of gaze
(2) and that you are orthophoric in all fields of gaze. What your eyes do when not fixed on a gaze is something else... a tropion or a phoria.
3) if you have a fusion break he needs to describe it in “arc seconds” to the break.

I’ve had 30 diopters waived.....

Hello,

This is an update about what is discussed above. I went to see my eye doctor and she did a new eye evaluation and filled out the form 8500-7 and then they faxed to the AME. After they faxed it to him, I went there to talk to him and he said that he will call my eye doctor to get some interpretation ( it seems that my test at the eye doctor was better than at the AME office) and then he will fax the form to the FAA and then call me. Now my questions is. How lo g can this take to hear back from the AME?

 

[Gil]

Hello,

This is an update about what is discussed above. I went to see my eye doctor and she did a new eye evaluation and filled out the form 8500-7 and then they faxed to the AME. After they faxed it to him, I went there to talk to him and he said that he will call my eye doctor to get some interpretation ( it seems that my test at the eye doctor was better than at the AME office) and then he will fax the form to the FAA and then call me. Now my questions is. How lo g can this take to hear back from the AME?

Hello @bbchien
How long can this take?

 

[Salty]

I keep reading the thread title as heterophobia.

 

[JOhnH]

Hello @bbchien
How long can this take?

I read it the same way. But I have to say, I did better reading the thread title than I did Dr. Chien's response. Nothing against Dr. Chien; it just made me feel (realize I was) ignorant. even though I feel I have a pretty good grasp of medical terms.