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Dominant Eye and Cataract Lens

Posted , 6 users are following.

indygeo
indygeo

Hi Everyone, 

Fresh off a consultation with my eye doc/surgeon, I was given a couple of tests to determine my dominant eye. I guess this factors in (not sure how) to what type of lens I might get.   His assistant handed me a little fake camera and told me to take a picture.  I did and used my right eye to sight the viewfinder.  So she concluded my dominant eye was my right.  However, a bit later when the doc saw me, he asked me to sight an imaginary rifle.  In that case, I used my left eye.   I'm a bit cross dominant in a number of things... I used to play hockey right handed.. I golf right handed...but I bat left handed.. I write left handed.   So I'm not even sure which eye is dominant.   Ultimately my question is.."How does eye 'dominance' factor into lenses?  Say, for example, in the case of mono-focal lenses.. Would the dominant eye be the one that should get the distance vision lens in a mono vision strategy?

G

 

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Night-Hawk
    Night-Hawk indygeo

    Posted

    Yes, for monovision, they recommend the dominant eye be the distance vision eye.

    Try this test: hold your hand out in front of you with your thumb up.  Sight an object 20+feet away with both eyes open and cover the spot with your thumb with arm outstretched and hold it there. Then close each eye separately, the eye you see thru where your thumb is still covering the distant spot is supposed to be your dominant eye.

  • Sue.An
    Sue.An indygeo

    Posted

    From what I read being left or right handed doesn’t determine right or left eye dominance.   When I did those tests I was pretty sure I was left  eye dominant however after cataract surgery same tests indicate right eye is dominant.   My cataract was worse in left eye so my surgeon said left eye took over.  Our eyes can adapt pretty quickly. I was having both eyes targeted for plano so that didn’t play much of a factor for me however I know most would say if you are having one eye targeted for distance it’s best if it’s your dominant eye.   But if you have one eye that is impacted by cataract and other eye doesn’t need surgery whether you are left or right eye dominant may not factor in either.
    • Sue.An
      Sue.An

      Posted

      Sorry meant my right eye’s cataracts was worse than left eye so left eye took over and became my dominant eye.
    • Night-Hawk
      Night-Hawk Sue.An

      Posted

      I believe the same thing happened for me.  My right eye was dominant years back but when the cataract in that eye blurred its vision for several years while my left eye was still getting good vision corrected my brain seemed to favor the left eye.  Even after the cataract surgery on my right eye giving it near 20/20 vision now I can tell that my brain still favors my left eye - so that I need to use eyeglasses for my left eye to get my brain to be satisfied! Yet the simple tests for dominance still indicate my right eye is supposed to be the dominant one, though my brain still has other ideas...
    • Di72082
      Di72082 Night-Hawk

      Posted

      I am suppose to get cataract surgery the 21st and I am still undecided wheter to get a lens for distance or far away. my decision? I have to get Mono focal lenses because of my retina not smooth or something like that. I also have Monovision. My right eye sees better close up, left better far away. My right eye will be first and my dominant eye. HELP!!!

       

    • at201
      at201 Di72082

      Posted

      If you are going to have cataract surgeries in both eyes in the near future, just have the right eye (which you think is the dominant eye) set for distance. You can't go wrong doing that.

      Just allow enough time between the 2 eye surgeries to see the results of the first surgery to determine the best choice for the second one.

  • at201
    at201 indygeo

    Posted

    1.  For many people, as you seem to be, any of the 2 eyes can become dominant at different times. For many years, I thought that my right eye was dominant. Then, when I check for it, sometimes the right eye comes out to be dominant and at  other times, the left eye comes out to be dominant.

    2. In case of monovision or mini-monovision, it is claimed that it is better to have the distance vision in the dominant eye. However, it is not that big a deal to have it in the non-dominant eye. I have my right eye set for distance vision (I use monovision), but since it is not dominant all the time, in effect, I am using a non-dominant eye for distance many a times. (and I cannot feel the difference because of that).

     

    • indygeo
      indygeo at201

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply!  That's good to know there's not much difference ultimately.  My apparently dominant eye is my right one and the doctor wants to set my left (cataract) eye to distance.  We will address the non (or rather, slight) cataract eye, the right one, at some future point.  My right eye is still good for reading so he feels I can get the mono-vision effect with only doing the left eye.  However, if the degree of mono-vision is too much (ie. too much difference), we strategize that we can do the right eye with a lens perhaps set for some mid-distance perhaps to get the mini-mono-vision.  I guess we'll see how this plays out. 

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