Vision changes

Matthew

Matthew

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Matthew
As my eyes age, my farsightedness is getting worse. That’s a good thing since I’ve always been nearsighted and now things are canceling out. Saw my eye doc today and got the verdict: I’m 20/20 in each eye. But I do need readers for near. My prescription does have a small correction for distance just to sharpen things up a small amount, I still have a slight astigmatism.

I’m going to look into getting my corrective lens limitation removed from my driver’s license.

Question about class III medical: I have the “must use corrective lenses…” restriction on my medical.

Is it as simple as telling the AME I want to see if I can pass the test without glasses and then doing it? Or is there some other paperwork involved in going from lenses to no lenses?

Since I will likely not pass the near vision exam without readers, there will probably be some restriction on my medical. How do the rest of you handle that? Carry cheaters and use them when necessary? Wear glasses with a prescription only in the reading area (progressive or lined bifocal)? Or use the half height readers? Other?

In all honesty, I will probably get a new set of progressives and wear them when flying. The near and intermediate correction is very helpful at reading and panel distances. Plus, the small correction for astigmatism does help. Even though the doc asked “1 or 2” and I had to try multiple times to decide, the correction does help. So I’m probably going to still wear glasses while flying but I’d like to see about removing any limitations that I can.
 
the standard for Class 3 distant and near Is 20/40. FAA doesn't care whether you wear glasses / contacts or not. All of the individual vision limitations are no more and have been replaced with:

“Must Use Corrective Lens(es) to meet vision standards
at all required distances”

so if you get rid of the distant vision correction requirement but need “cheaters” for near, your Certificate is going to say the exact same thing under “limitations.” You can meet the near vision requirement by any of the methods you mentioned above. The only thing you can’t do is wear a near vision only contact in one or both eyes, which you wouldn’t do anyway because you wouldn’t be able to see 20’ in front of the airplane. If you need your cheaters to see something, put them on. If you can see your G1000 perfectly fine without them, then don’t wear them and keep them in your flite bag.
 
Matthew said:
Since I will likely not pass the near vision exam without readers, there will probably be some restriction on my medical. How do the rest of you handle that? Carry cheaters and use them when necessary? Wear glasses with a prescription only in the reading area (progressive or lined bifocal)? Or use the half height readers? Other?
Click to expand...

I wear contacts which work great for distance, but I need reading glasses for things closer than a few feet. I have these stuck on the bottom of my sunglasses:
https://www.amazon.com/Optx-20-Stic...ocphy=9011908&hvtargid=pla-438984102688&psc=1 They work very well, and they're easy to peel off and replace if I ever need a different prescription for near vision.

For night or dim lighting, when I'm not using the sunglasses, I have a pair of half-frame readers in the glove compartment of the plane.

BTW, you can avoid the medical certificate hassle if you switch to Basic Med.
 
Half Fast said:
I wear contacts which work great for distance, but I need reading glasses for things closer than a few feet. I have these stuck on the bottom of my sunglasses:
https://www.amazon.com/Optx-20-Stic...ocphy=9011908&hvtargid=pla-438984102688&psc=1 They work very well, and they're easy to peel off and replace if I ever need a different prescription for near vision.

For night or dim lighting, when I'm not using the sunglasses, I have a pair of half-frame readers in the glove compartment of the plane.

BTW, you can avoid the medical certificate hassle if you switch to Basic Med.
Click to expand...
Nice. I’ve seen the stick on readers before but never knew anyone that used them.
 
My last medical before I went basicmed 5 years ago said, "must have corrective lenses available for near vision." I was otherwise 20/20. Stick on readers work very well.

Since then I've become mildly farsighted, so I can (and do) use cheap weak readers for distance vision. They're a little weaker than optimum for close vision, but I can get by.
 
craig d said:
All of the individual vision limitations are no more and have been replaced with:

“Must Use Corrective Lens(es) to meet vision standards
at all required distances”
Click to expand...
Is that just for 3rd Class?

My Second class still says:

MUST WEAR CORRECTIVE LENSES FOR DISTANT VISION AND HAVE GLASSES FOR NEAR VISION.
 
Matthew said:
Nice. I’ve seen the stick on readers before but never knew anyone that used them.
Click to expand...

I almost tried the stick on readers but went with these instead (good quality and work very well) -

www.readers.com

The Legacy Bifocal Reading Sunglasses | Bifocal Style Aviator Reading Sunglasses | Tinted Readers

Create a legacy of style with this pair of bifocal reading sunglasses! With an aviator shape, The Legacy provides a look that has stood the test of time, while the bifocal style lens makes it great for everyday use.
www.readers.com www.readers.com
 
Daleandee said:
I almost tried the stick on readers but went with these instead (good quality and work very well) -

www.readers.com

The Legacy Bifocal Reading Sunglasses | Bifocal Style Aviator Reading Sunglasses | Tinted Readers

Create a legacy of style with this pair of bifocal reading sunglasses! With an aviator shape, The Legacy provides a look that has stood the test of time, while the bifocal style lens makes it great for everyday use.
www.readers.com www.readers.com
Click to expand...
Thanks.,,Not needing distance correction opens up a lot if options. Every time my prescription changed enough to where I’d get new glasses it was always $x3. My dailies, my sunglasses, and my safeties.
 
If you're uncorrected vision is 20/40 or better, your AME can issue a certificate without a corrective lens restriction. No special paperwork is required and is a common event after corrective surgery like SMILE, LASIK, or PRK. For those with near vision issues, I think progressive are the way to go. They're a bit more expensive, but are way better suited to the cockpit than bifocals or readers.
 
WingmanMed said:
If you're uncorrected vision is 20/40 or better, your AME can issue a certificate without a corrective lens restriction. No special paperwork is required and is a common event after corrective surgery like SMILE, LASIK, or PRK. For those with near vision issues, I think progressive are the way to go. They're a bit more expensive, but are way better suited to the cockpit than bifocals or readers.
Click to expand...
I had this discussion yesterday with my eye doc. My previous eye guy is also a pilot and really looked out for me. The new bunch are very young, but I’ve stuck with one of them long enough now to educate him a bit. His recommendation was also to stay with progressives, what I currently use. The advantage there is the near, middle, distance correction available. I tried several readers in bis office and could find a value that worked well for reading at kneeboard distance or at panel distance, but not both. I would have to compromise. Plus, even with that small astigmatism, I’d really like to sharpen that up as much as possible for flying. So that keeps me in dailies and sunglasses, at least for flying. It also avoids the problem of grabbing readers and putting them on while messing with a headset.
 
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WingmanMed said:
If you're uncorrected vision is 20/40 or better, your AME can issue a certificate without a corrective lens restriction. No special paperwork is required and is a common event after corrective surgery like SMILE, LASIK, or PRK. For those with near vision issues, I think progressive are the way to go. They're a bit more expensive, but are way better suited to the cockpit than bifocals or readers.
Click to expand...

I have progressives that I use in the evening after removing my contacts. I hate them. I'm constantly having to tilt or turn my head to bring something into focus and keep it in focus, rather than just moving my eyes. That would be terrible in the cockpit.
 
Matthew said:
I had this discussion yesterday with my eye doc. My previous eye guy is also a pilot and really looked out for me. The new bunch are very young, but I’ve stuck with one of them long enough now to educate him a bit. His recommendation was also to stay with progressives, what I currently use. The advantage there is the near, middle, distance correction available. I tried several readers in bis office and could find a value that worked well for reading at kneeboard distance or at panel distance, but not both. I would have to compromise. Plus, even with that small astigmatism, I’d really like to sharpen that up as much as possible for flying. So that keeps me in dailies and sunglasses. It also avoids the problem of grabbing readers and putting them on while messing with a headset.
Click to expand...

Have you tried contacts for distance? Mine also correct for astigmatism. They work very well.
 
Half Fast said:
I have progressives that I use in the evening after removing my contacts. I hate them. I'm constantly having to tilt or turn my head to bring something into focus and keep it in focus, rather than just moving my eyes. That would be terrible in the cockpit.
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Some brands have a wider sweet spot than others. It took me a little while to get used to them. I can see where going back and forth with contacts would be a problem.
 
I also have issues with progressive lenses in the a/c. I found, with my prescription, I could only keep a very small area of the panel in focus at any given time. This requires that I am constantly turning my head during instrument scans and turning to the navigator/radio stack; obviously, this is pas bon in IMC. I tried trifocals and now the entire panel is within very acceptable focus and I can scan with just moving my eyes. My control wheel mounted I-pad is in focus with the near vision grind and the outside view in focus with the far vision grind. I am a happy, yet nerdy looking camper.
 
robin ardoin said:
I also have issues with progressive lenses in the a/c. I found, with my prescription, I could only keep a very small area of the panel in focus at any given time. This requires that I am constantly turning my head during instrument scans and turning to the navigator/radio stack; obviously, this is pas bon in IMC. I tried trifocals and now the entire panel is within very acceptable focus and I can scan with just moving my eyes. My control wheel mounted I-pad is in focus with the near vision grind and the outside view in focus with the far vision grind. I am a happy, yet nerdy looking camper.
Click to expand...

Some progressive lenses have a very limited field of view. Other more expensive ones have a much wider field of view. The varilux lenses have a very wide field of view and they work better than others I've tried.
 
Mikey52 said:
Some progressive lenses have a very limited field of view. Other more expensive ones have a much wider field of view. The varilux lenses have a very wide field of view and they work better than others I've tried.
Click to expand...
I've tried the Varilux and they would not work for me. I even tried a different optometrist/optician and the result of a very narrow focal zone persisted. I suppose it is just my particular prescription that does not play well with progressives. Trifocals suck at times, but they are the best solution as of yet. I am kind of looking forward to having IOL replacement to get my far/mid vision back...LOL. I never though I would wish for cataracts.:oops:
 
In the A/C in the right seat I have a set of 50% lined bifocals setup for 30". No more neck pain!
 
My take after this discussion:

My AME uses one of those drivers license style boxes that might be older than I am.

1) I should be able to pass the distance test without correction

2) I will probably NOT pas the near test without correction

The rest are unknown (without correction), I don’t know how well I’ll be able to see this info without correction:

3) vertical and horizontal line, direction of the opening on the “C” character, whatever else is on there (some of those might not be on his machine, I might be thinking about my regular eye doc)

4) color blindness

Because of #2, it looks like I will still need the limitation on my medical anyway. It would be a nice option to only need to carry readers or stick ons, though.
 
Half Fast said:
Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med. Basic Med......
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Yeah, I still have one year left on my class III. That will give me enough time to figure out if I’m going to get that commercial or not.
 
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