What is low vision?

Low vision is impaired vision that cannot be fully restored by conventional glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment, or surgery. Low vision is not total blindness. People with low vision have potentially useful vision.Over 4 million Americans have low vision. Sixty-eight percent of these people are over the age of 65. Six percent of people age 65 to 74 have low vision, 12 percent of those age 75 to 84, and 21 percent of those over age 85. Most people with low vision can become more visually independent if they make a commitment to learn how to use low vision aids and devices, as well as learn new methods to perform everyday tasks.

What are the major causes of low vision?

Low vision can be due to heredity, an injury, disease, or aging. Some of the most common causes of low vision are macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic atrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment, and stroke. Regardless of the cause of vision loss, the Low Vision Center offers options that will enable patient's to use their vision to its fullest potential.

Image credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Common Complaints

If you say yes to any of these questions below, you may need a low vision evaluation.

Do you have trouble:

  • seeing bills or small print?
  • recognizing faces of friends and relatives?
  • picking out and matching the color of your clothes?
  • doing things at work or home because lights seem dimmer than they used to?
  • reading street and bus signs or the names of stores?
Credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

What is low vision?

Low vision is impaired vision that cannot be fully restored by conventional glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment, or surgery. Low vision is not total blindness. People with low vision have potentially useful vision.Over 4 million Americans have low vision. Sixty-eight percent of these people are over the age of 65. Six percent of people age 65 to 74 have low vision, 12 percent of those age 75 to 84, and 21 percent of those over age 85. Most people with low vision can become more visually independent if they make a commitment to learn how to use low vision aids and devices, as well as learn new methods to perform everyday tasks.

What are the major causes of low vision?

Low vision can be due to heredity, an injury, disease, or aging. Some of the most common causes of low vision are macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic atrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment, and stroke. Regardless of the cause of vision loss, the Low Vision Center offers options that will enable patient's to use their vision to its fullest potential.

Image credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Common Complaints

If you say yes to any of these questions below, you may need a low vision evaluation.

Do you have trouble:

  • seeing bills or small print?
  • recognizing faces of friends and relatives?
  • picking out and matching the color of your clothes?
  • doing things at work or home because lights seem dimmer than they used to?
  • reading street and bus signs or the names of stores?
Credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

Do patients need to be referred to the College’s Low Vision Services?

Many patients are referred to the College’s Low Vision Services by their optometrist, ophthalmologist, or other medical doctor. Area hospitals, Lions Clubs, the Braille Institute, and the California State Department of Rehabilitation also refer patients. The low vision clinical facilities obtain ocular health information from the referring doctor. At the conclusion of the low vision evaluation and rehabilitation period, the patient is advised to return to the referring doctor for continued eye care. Patients who are self-referred are also accepted at the Low Vision Center for rehabilitation. If a patient has not had a complete ocular health examination within the past several months, then this procedure is performed as part of the low vision evaluation.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call the Low Vision Center at 714.992.7890.