Dominant Eye

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Can dominant eye switch from one to other?

I have full blown cataract in my right eye I and can't see anything from it for a year but my left eye is fine and I have been using it for everything. I am getting ready for my surgery in the right eye and tested to see which is my dominant eye for a possible mono-vision setup. I was surprised to find out that my left eye is dominant. Until now I didn't know which was my dominant eye but assumed it was the right one. Statistically only a small number of people are left eye dominant and before cataract I always used my right eye to look though the camera, target shooting, etc. Since I have been been relying on my left eye for everything for a year, I wonder if my dominant eye switched from right to left. If that's possible than could it switch back after the surgery.

I ask this because I am wondering how important is it for the dominant eye to be set for distance in a mono-vision setup, in case I go "back" to being right eye dominant after surgery with it set to mid-range and not distance.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Yes, eye dominance can switch. An open-access study you may want to read, which was done "to assess whether eye dominance may change after cataract surgery" (answer yes), is Roy Schwartz and Yossi Yatziv, "The effect of cataract surgery on ocular dominance", Clinical Ophthalmology (14 December 2015).

  • Posted

    First, I don't "see" how they could test for a dominant eye when you can't see out of one eye. Crossed monovision where the dominant eye is used for the near eye, is not that unusual. I am left eye dominant and my distance eye is the right eye. I shoot right handed and wanted to see distance with it, plus it was the first one to have a cataract and the surgeon suggested distance for it. It seems to work well. Some studies have found crossed monovision may work somewhat better.

    • Posted

      Search "FRONT SIGHT FOCUS VS TARGET FOCUS VS INSTINCTIVE SHOOTING" where he discusses whether to focus on the front site vs the target.

    • Posted

      I don't shoot with a handgun and have not shot since cataract surgery with a shotgun, so really can't comment. I have done some scope shooting with my distance corrected right eye, and all is fine. No need for eyeglasses.

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