What Is Binocular Vision, and How Are Binocular Vision Disorders Corrected?

The Science of Seeing: Understanding Binocular Vision

Binocular vision is a fascinating and often misunderstood aspect of how we see. While you have two eyes, your brain works tirelessly to create a single, unified image. A simple trick to demonstrate this is to hold two fingers up, one in front of the other. As you focus on the front finger, the back one appears as two, and vice-versa. This illustrates that you experience double vision everywhere except for the specific point you are focusing on.

A binocular vision disorder occurs when your two eyes struggle to focus on a single object. These disorders, which can have various complex names, are essentially any condition where your eyes cannot maintain a “lock” on an object to create a single image. This struggle can be caused by many factors, including concussions, extended computer use, or other traumatic brain injuries.

Correcting Binocular Vision Disorders

After a brain injury, the effort required to “stitch together” two slightly misaligned images can become a significant drain on the brain’s energy. This is when an underlying binocular vision disorder may become more noticeable. For example, if your eyes are slightly misaligned—one higher than the other—your brain works hard to make the two images appear as one. When your brain is healing, it may no longer have the energy to perform this task, exposing the underlying issue.

To address these challenges, several solutions are available:

• Prism: A common solution is to use prism lenses, which redirect light to align the disparate images your eyes see
• Aniseikonia Correction: Another issue that can affect binocular vision is aniseikonia, where one eye sees an image as larger than the other

Anisometropia is a related condition where the two eyes have an unequal refractive power. This can cause the “lock” to break when you look through different parts of the lens. For patients with anisometropia who prefer not to wear contact lenses, specialized lenses like the Shaw Lens can be an effective solution. These lenses are designed to maintain the vision lock not just at the center, but across the entire lens, ensuring your two eyes remain aligned as you look in different directions.

Charlie Saccarelli

President, Chadwick Optical

As President of Chadwick Optical, Charlie Saccarelli is the driving force behind the company’s mission to help every patient left behind by the current health care system. Under his leadership, Chadwick has grown from a simple optical lab into a trusted resource for practitioners around the world looking for ways to help the patients that “can’t be helped.” He is a master optician, a father, a bit of a nerd, and a passionate patient advocate who has lectured worldwide on all things optical.