Diagnosed with Macular Degeneration? These Visual Aids Can Help

vision aids for macular degeneration
Regular visits to your eye care professional can help you find the right vision aids for macular degeneration.

Written by MacuHealth
Reviewed by Jim Stringham, Ph.D.

Are you at risk of severe vision loss?

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 93 million Americans are at risk of profound vision loss at some point in their life. Even worse, only about half of this number have visited an eye doctor in the last 12 months.

Macular degeneration represents one of the leading causes of severe vision loss. The American Academy of Ophthalmology reports that 2.1 million Americans aged 50 or over have vision-threatening macular degeneration.

In this article, we’ll examine what vision aids for macular degeneration are, how they can help, and the types of aids available today.

What are Some of the Vision Aids for Macular Degeneration?

Fortunately, being diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration doesn’t have to mean losing control of your life. Various support options are available, including multiple sight aids for macular degeneration.

Devices for macular degeneration help you to make the best of what vision you have and ensure that your life keeps running smoothly. It might take a little time to adjust, but by taking advantage of sight aids, you can continue to enjoy a free and independent lifestyle.

Why are Macular Degeneration Vision Aids Important?

If you have been diagnosed with macular degeneration, you may experience changes to your vision. Regular appointments with your eye doctor will help you manage these changes over time.

Doing everything possible to preserve your eye health and protect your vision is critical. However, vision ads can support you in optimizing your sight. As devastating as vision loss is, living with macular degeneration doesn’t have to mean missing out on your favorite things.

Technological advancements are helping patients to work, study, and enjoy their lives with minimal fuss and inconvenience.

Vision aids cannot prevent macular degeneration or halt its progress. There is no cure for this type of condition, but vision aids for macular degeneration can empower you to adapt and overcome.

The first step is selecting the best visual aid for you.

8 Vision Aids For Macular Degeneration

Coping with macular degeneration means getting creative. There’s no single best macular degeneration aid for everybody. You may want to try several visual aids for macular degeneration to see which one(s) works best to help your vision.

Magnifiers

Low-vision magnifiers are the most common type of aid for macular degeneration. Small magnifiers are easy to use and can suit any purpose, including watching TV, putting on makeup or reading.

You’ll find various macular degeneration aids for low vision, including small pocket magnifiers and full-page magnifiers. Like most products, magnifiers vary in size, price, and quality. As a non-prescription product, do your research to find a suitable magnifier for your needs.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Magnifiers

CCTV systems combine a camera and a television screen for macular degeneration patients. Point the camera at an object, and the magnified image will appear on the screen.

Look at the screen and use the image to work or enjoy your favorite activities in real-time. Like magnifiers, a range of CCTV systems is available. Many of the leading CCTV systems can even broadcast images in 4K.

Electronic Reading Tools

Reading can be incredibly challenging for people with macular degeneration. According to one study, slower reading speeds occur because patients become increasingly reliant on their peripheral vision. While you may be tempted to give up on reading entirely, there are aids for low-vision macular degeneration to maintain your reading abilities.

Electronic reading tools can help by increasing the font size, font type, and contrast between the page and the words. Most modern eReaders already contain these standard features, making it easier to enjoy your favorite books.

Low-Vision Optical Lenses

Ordinary eyeglasses can only take you so far as macular degeneration advances with age. Technology advancements have led to the development of different types of optical lenses to combat the condition. There’s no need to allow poor vision to stop you from living your life to the fullest.

Depending on the extent of your condition, you may find certain types of eyeglasses more valuable than others. Here’s a breakdown of the most common low-vision optical lenses.

Bioptic Telescopic Glasses

Bioptic telescopic glasses, also marketed as bioptic lens systems, combine a telescope with two optical lenses. These telescopes are affixed to the glasses’ lenses to boost your vision.

Bioptic macular degeneration visual aids allow you to see objects at a distance. The most common uses for these lenses include reading signs, recognizing faces, and watching television.

Low-Vision Magnifying Reading Glasses

The versatility of an eReader is unmatched, but not everyone likes looking at a screen to  read. If you prefer to read print in physical books and newspapers, you need an alternative tool.

Low-vision magnifying reading glasses act like an eReader because they magnify the font to make it simpler to consume.

Prismatic Eyeglasses

Prismatic eyeglasses are similar to low-vision magnifying reading glasses, only stronger. These extra-powerful reading glasses offer a natural focal point that takes the strain off your eyes. 

Prism glasses can help with an issue like double vision, assisting both eyes to focus on the same image. If you suffer from a more severe form of macular degeneration, prismatic eyeglasses can be a helpful reading aid.

E-Scoop Glasses

E-Scoop glasses are an advanced form of optical lens combining five unique characteristics to support your sight. These include:

  • Increasing image size
  • Improving contrast
  • Enhancing light exposure
  • Bolstering comfort
  • Improving vision

Unlike some of the other low-vision aids for macular degeneration on this list, E-Scoop glasses are designed to be worn constantly.

E-Scoop glasses are a long-term vision aid because they can be recalibrated to match your changing vision. Do remember that even this advanced technology has its limitations. They cannot restore your vision or combat advanced macular degeneration.

Binoculars/Telescopes

While binoculars and telescopes are not distinct optical lenses, they are an add-on you can mount to your glasses. Attaching telescopes or binoculars can temporarily change your vision if you struggle to see things at a distance.

These compact binoculars or telescopes can allow you to visit a museum, read menus, go to the theater or attend a sporting event. The strength of these additions can be tailored according to your current vision strength.

OrCam

OrCam is another next-generation low-vision aid developed to change how you perceive the world despite low vision. It is attached directly to your eyeglasses and connects to a larger device via a cable.

The OrCam is barely noticeable and utilizes artificial intelligence to support people with visual impairments to recognize faces, read books and more.

Additionally, OrCam has been used to help people who are blind by seeing on their behalf and speaking to them. For example, OrCam can read supermarket barcodes to tell you which product is in front of you.

IrisVision

Wearable devices powered by artificial intelligence are fast becoming the next frontier of vision aids for macular degeneration. IrisVision goes one step further by incorporating virtual reality technology.

IrisVision provides a 70-degree field of vision to allow you to perceive the world fully and clearly. Currently, the only disadvantage of IrisVision is that it remains a static device. You cannot move around while wearing it. But it is fascinating because it includes several viewing modes, allowing you to switch between each. Whether you need scene mode for admiring a landscape or TV mode for watching your favorite show, a click of a button will help you see everything clearly.

Supplements

Aids for macular degeneration provide vital support to your vision as you age. Evidence has shown that supplements can slow down macular degeneration progression, and reduce symptom severity in many patients. There are high-quality supplements that offer important benefits to eye health and improve overall health, making them an excellent addition to your diet.

Low-Vision Lamps

Light is essential for supporting someone with macular degeneration. Over time, yellow deposits in the eye, known as drusen, gradually cause light-sensitive cells within the macular to thin and die.

High-quality lighting can compensate for some of your central vision loss, whether you have the dry or wet form of age-related macular degeneration. It also reduces eye strain and eye fatigue. Ordinary options lack the control to set the light just right for your vision. Specialized low-vision lamps can control the light’s color, brightness and direction.

Low-vision lamps can also make your other aids for macular degeneration, such as video magnifiers, magnifying glasses, and CCTV systems, more effective. Some low-vision lamps are designed to be portable, so you can easily carry them from room to room as needed.

Support Your Vision with Macular Degeneration Supplements

We can’t stop age-related macular degeneration. However, slowing the disease’s progression, and reducing symptom severity can make a healthy, independent life is possible. Macular degeneration vision aids have come a long way in the last decade, with next-generation technologies revolutionizing how patients see, even when their central vision fails.

Many people don’t realize they’re at risk of macular degeneration, especially after their 50th birthday. Vision aids can help you optimize your remaining sight, but you can support your eye health daily with the right mix of supplements.

MacuHealth’s macular degeneration supplements contain the three major macular carotenoids scientifically proven to rebuild the macular pigment and manage your macular degeneration symptoms.

To learn more about the benefits of MacuHealth, contact us now.