Amblyopia, and Everything it Affects

Amblyopia, or Lazy Eye, is commonly seen as a problem getting to 20/20 eyesight. But did you know that is just ONE of MANY visual skills that are commonly impaired by amblyopia? Watch to learn more, and know that in most cases, each of these skills can be improved through Optometric Vision Therapy!

[floralbabuitrago]

Thanks so much doctor Neil I can not stop crying because my daughter was born with that issue she is now 30 but you give me a hope today, before I was watching your video I found an another doctor in Canada just a few days ago, but cause now I know about you. I'm gonna to contact your office to see when can we get an appointment I hope that we can get soon. I'm so tired and frustrated with out hope for to many years, 30 years. Thank you so much again and again God Bless You

[SparkyOne]

I have amblyopia, had it all my life. Here’s what it’s like for me : I have a new bruise everyday from walking into something I didn’t see, like a door, door frame, kitchen counter, chair, desk etc. I also don’t see things, like when I need to find something that isn’t in its right place, I have to walk around the house multiple times to find what I’m looking for. If there’s too many things on a table or counter, it takes me 10 times as long to find what I need.
I can’t drive, because there’s too many things going on, I don’t see what I’m supposed to see, like a road sign, traffic light, person, even the road.
What pisses me off more, is people know I have amblyopia, yet, they don’t know what it is. So I get in situations helping people and they say for example “ see the socket next to the hammer? My answer, “where’s the hammer?” their answer “over there” and I can’t find it.
I need to wear a t shirt with the words “ If you need me to find something, ask someone else”
I know when my brain shuts off the connection with my eye, that’s when I walk into things and can’t find anything, but it seems to be sporadic, I think it is because it doesn’t happen all day every day, maybe I’m more aware of my surroundings now.
My dominant eye is my Amblyopic eye, I like photography but it’s really hard to properly focus, I’ve tried my good eye and it’s much harder to do.

[dirtyboy]

My mother is in her mid 60s and has had a "lazy eye" since birth. She has been legally blind in that eye my entire life but you would never be able to tell. The eye never wonders or looks out of place, she has always just said that everything in that eye is out of focus and always has been. Even with patch treatments as a child.

[janetwilson]

It is reassuring to have a clear explanation of all the problems that amblyopia can present. I could bever use a microscope or binoculars properly, due to suppression. I was called 'clumsy' because I often did not notice things on the side of the amblyopic eye. I have a slight tilt to my head because I only really look out of one eye, and riding a bike is a bit of a nightmare because I have to really turn my head to make sure there is nothing behind me. Seeing shapes in holograms was another thing that frustrated me.

I now have cataracts on both my eyes. They are not too bad at the moment, but it means my weaker eye has very little vision and, because my work is all text based and online, I need reasonable adjustments of short breaks away from the screen.

The strange thing is that the strabismus that I had until I had a corrective operation at two years old, used to make my amblyopic eye turn inwards, now it turns outwards.

[allanmckeag]

I had cataract surgery a few months ago on my poor eye as it was the worst. As a result ( I think ) this new clarity presented a challenge for my brain because the Amblyotic eye was now the better image.
All the issues for this eye seemed to come to the surface. Issues that were pushed to the background previously as the good eye/brain combination did all the work.
I have had to return to the patch and pencil exercises of my childhood to improve the balance.
Fortunately, these exercises have mitigated the problem, but I am concerned about having the next surgery done.
If anyone has gone through this with a positive outcome I would be grateful to hear about.

PS
A very informative video, thank you

[KristiBranstetter]

What a great explanation! I have had it most of my life. I wish that vision therapy had been offered in the late '60s! I noticed that I no longer enjoy reading like I used to. I started reading early despite the condition.

[pbro]

All of this is so true. I have always always hated lazy eye. I wish I would have had a doctor like you when I was little. It was so stressful even at 3-4 yrs old whenever I’d have to go to get my eyes checked. “Do you see the big E?? What’s the next line. I can’t see it. Do you see the big E? Yes only because I know what it is” and it went on and on like that. And still to this day it is sometimes like that. It is frustrating. They put a patch on and gave me glasses that I couldn’t see out of at all. Finally my parents gave up and never talked about it again and would only occasionally tell me to watch my good eye around things that could hurt the good eye. I was never given special treatment and never told I couldn’t do something because of it so I figured everything out as I went along and was just labeled the kid that is accident prone. Driving was the hardest to learn because of depth perception and after about 12 fender benders I figured that out. I still struggle with pouring liquids and with handing something to someone or them handing me something. The worst thing now is that the older I get the more my left eye is drifting and I’m self conscious and try to remember not to do eye contact unless it’s someone who knows me and my problem. At least now I go get glasses because I’m older and my good eye needs up close glasses so I just tell them I don’t see out of the left eye so just balance the lenses and they do . Thank you for your videos and it reminds me I’m not alone and that helps a lot.

[joeburns]

Good video on having a lazy eye. Yeah, I've had one since birth of course, and I would assume it does affect depth perception...but honestly would not know what "depth perception" is, since I've never had it. With that, guess I've never found it that problematic, and learned to just use one eye. Maybe it's like someone who's been blind from birth - easier to accept if you've never had it. Just me though.

Long term possible down side: I'm in advanced age now (67), and find that now my good eye does get tired more easily, esp. when reading. Have glasses (and a heavy prescription for the bad eye), and often cover up my good eye to let my bad eye do some work. I think using one good eye does more work thru your lifetime than using two, and can possibly become more tired more quickly. Otherwise, I've had pretty much a normal life.

[ChristianGeske-ynmr]

I’ve had a lazy eye since a kid and didn’t get surgery until about 14 and my brain since I can remember had blocked out my right eye.

But the thing is even before I got the surgery I had developed depth perception with just my left eye.

It’s amazing how the brain can adapt sometimes.

[gunther]

I've had amblyopia as far back as I can remember, it's been with me since kindergarten. My peers and older children used to make fun of me, like "look at me as if you were mentally retarded". Adults took my explanations for childish fantasies, as I used expressions like "I can see through my hand" and "I see like a robot".

So I soon gave it up as it didn't really affect my life in any way, it didn't until I graduated from high school. Then I noticed that the vision in one eye had dropped, my parents would say to my complaints "it's because you play computer games non-stop etc".

Then I graduated from uni and noticed that my eyesight continued to fall, so I even bought glasses, but for a long time I did not understand why and did not even know that there was such a disease

[FrilledMayfly_AmberlyFerrule]

I'd say this video changed my life! As a kid I sucked at learning how to read, PE was the worst thing ever, etc. My right eye is basically blind, but I've realized that I can see out of it, but it's like I can't process the image, well now I know why! It's not necessarily an issue with the eye but the BRAIN! I wish my eye doctors where better, this video really gave me hope that I don't just have to be blind through that eye for the rest of my life. I'm not expecting the eyesight to be flawless, but if my brain can actually stop ignoring it that'd be swell! I've recently started trying to type faster. I've realized that my right hand (on the side of my amblyopic eye) makes a significant amount of mistakes compared to the hand on the side of my dominate eye. I've made a sort of "eye separator" (headband with cardboard down the middle) to try to improve get my brain to form an image with both eyes and not just the left one. It really is strange seeing out of both eyes and forming an image with both. Still a very very long way to go, but so thankful that there's solutions!

[amberl]

Yes true! Thank you for explaining this more. I’ve had problems with my eyes since I was little and had to wear glasses. I had surgery in 2000 to try help correct the lazy eye and the muscles. It helped for about 10 to 15 years the. I had to do vision therapy. I also have dystonia in neck. My eye doctor at the time noticed it when she was doing vision therapy. It’s also hard to focus and get my eyes to work together when I’m tired. I’ve also had Covid a few years ago. I still have long Covid symptoms and it’s been driving my eyes crazy trying to focus and with brain fog it gets awful. I’ve been doing some of the vision therapy on here hoping I can get my eyes to strengthen. I hope it’s not to late for my vision. The left one is the worse one I just make out an image now can’t see without my glasses. Thank you again for the info and video.🙏🏻

[botsareeverywhere]

4:36 I have Strabismic Amblyopia and chronic one sided headaches, I was always told they aren’t related. Hmmm

[BryanDavis]

Will you do a video about Streff syndrome. It would really help all of us to know what it is and how it effects daily life.

[sarahgatt]

I have a lazy eye which sees blurry for far but ok from near !!! 55yrs & never had an eye patch !!!! What vision therapy do you suggest ?! Tried & tested with good results x

[lisamanning]

I wish my doctor was like you. I had it at birth and my first surgery was at 4 second was at 10 and now I have the strongest glasses but I'm looking for a second opinion because no one has got my prescription right in a while and it has made me have migraines that are brutal on me.

[gaylecheung]

I was really and still am good at baseball first base never struck out up to corporate teams retired 61 this year

[scarlettblack]

Thank you so much. What about when it occurs in both eyes? Is it treated differently when it occurs in both eyes?

[shivharisharma]

Hii Sir
I'm Shivhari Sharma, 24 years of age, suffering from amblyopic eye. My left eye is lazy eye and right eye is also deteriorating day by day.
Due to it i was never good in sports and academics even doing lot of hard work.
Currently suffering from depression.
My right eye is of power -1D spherical with -3.5D cylindrical component and left eye is of -12D spherical with -2D cylindrical component
Please please please Sir help me out.

[BrookeYoder]

I thought I had amblyopia but none of these describe me. My vision in my left eye isn't blurry and I think my depth perception is fine, but there's just a chunk of things missing and in it's place is just blackness - as if the blackness from my closed or covered right eye is interfering with everything. Like there's a hole in my vision.