Depth Perception: What It Is and How to Treat Issues - Healthline

Depth perception is the way your eyes perceive the distance between two objects. Certain conditions can make depth perception troublesome. HealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectShopSubscribeEverythingtoKnowAboutDepthPerceptionIssuesMedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.—WrittenbyJenniferLarsononMay28,2020HowtotestCausesDailylifeTreatmentsTipstocopeProductsandservicesTalkwithyourdoctorTakeawayShareonPinterestWhenpeopletalkaboutdepthperception,they’rereferringtoyoureyes’abilitytojudgethedistancebetweentwoobjects.Bothofyoureyesperceivethesameobjectslightlydifferentlyandatslightlydifferentangles,butyourbraincanmergethetwoimagesintoone3-Dimage.Thisprocessisalsoknownasstereopsis.Withthisinformation,youcangaugehowfaraparttheobjectsare,aswellashowfartheyarefromyou.HowtotestdepthperceptionYoucantestyoureyes’abilitytoprovidethisinformationathome.Here’showtodoit:Gazeatapictureofacircleoraball.Then,holduponefingerabout6inchesawayfromyoureyes,withthecircleinthebackground.Focusbotheyesonyourfinger.You’llprobablynoticeslightlyhazyimagesofthecirclethatappearonbothsidesofyourfinger.Now,switchyourfocus.Keepyourfingerinthesameplace,butgazebeyondyourfingertothecircle.Youshouldseeimagesofyourfingeroneithersideofthecircle.Ifyou’rehavingtrouble,youmayhaveanissuewithyourdepthperception.CausesofdepthperceptionissuesAnumberoffactorscancontributetoproblemswithdepthperception.Someofthemostcommonfactorsinclude:StrabismusStrabismusisaconditionthatoccurswhenyoureyesarenotproperlyaligned.Forexample,oneeyemightturninwardoroutward.Sometimes,aneyecanalsolookupwardordownward.Somepeopleappeartohavecrossedeyes,whichisalsoasignofstrabismus.Essentially,sinceyoureyesmaylookinslightlydifferentdirections,they’llfocusondifferentthings.TheAmericanAcademyofOphthalmology(AAO)estimatesthatstrabismusaffectsabout4percentofchildrenintheUnitedStates.AmbylopiaIfyourbrainfavorsoneeyeovertheother,resultinginoneeyethatdoesn’tquitetrackproperly,youhaveamblyopia.Alsoknowncolloquiallyas“lazyeye,”amblyopiacancausevisionlossintheweakereyethatcanreduceyourdepthperceptionandmaybeevenyourvision.It’salsorelativelycommoninbabiesandyoungchildren,accordingtotheAAO.NerveproblemsIfyouropticnerveisswollenorinflamed,itmightaffectyourvisionandinterferewithyourdepthperception.Additionally,somepeoplearebornwithararetypeofnervedamagecalledopticnervehypoplasia,whichoccurswhentheopticnervedoesn’tfullydevelop.TraumatooneofyoureyesIfoneofyoureyeshasbeeninjured,youmaynolongerbeabletoseewellenoughtohavegooddepthperception.BlurryvisionTherearedozensofpotentialcausesofblurryvision,fromcornealabrasionsandglaucomatodiabeticretinopathyandplainoldnearsightedness.Anyconditionthatmakesyourvisionblurry,eventemporarily,caninterferewithyourabilitytoperceivedistancesanddepthaccurately.HowitimpactsdailylifeYouusevisualcuestomakeallsortsofdecisionseverysingleday.Andyouprobablydon’teventhinkaboutitunlesssomethingiswrong.Whensomethingaffectsyourdepthperception,itcanalsointerferewithyourdailylife.Hereareafewcommonexamplesofhowaproblemthataffectsyourdepthperceptionmaycreatesomechallenges.KidsandlearningChildrenwhocan’tseeverywellmaynotsayanythingaboutit.Butacarefulobservermaynoticethemsquintingormovingtheirheadinanefforttotrytogetabetterview.Somechildrenmayevenhavetroublelearningbecausetheycan’tseetheboardorotherteachingmaterialsatschool.AdultsanddrivingPeoplewithimpairedvisionornovisioninoneeyemayworryabouthowthey’regoingtogetaround.Thegoodnewsisthatyoucanprobablystillgetadriver’slicense.However,becauseyourvisionproblemscanaffectorreduceyourdepthperceptionabilities,youmayneedtousesomestrategiestohelpyoudrivesafely.NavigatingtheworldaroundyouDepthperceptionhelpsprofessionalbaseballplayersgaugethespeedoftheballhurtlingtowardthem.Butdepthperceptionalsohelpspeopleperformsimple,everydaytasks,likesafelycrossingabusystreetortakingthestairswithouttheriskofmisjudgingthemandstumbling.Ifyourdepthperceptionisimpaired,youmayhavesometroubledoingthosekindsofactivities.Youmightevenhavetroublepouringaglassofmilk.TreatmentsThetreatmentoptionsfordepthperceptionissuesdependonthecauseoftheproblem.Forexample,childrenwhohavestrabismushavetroublewithdepthperceptionbecausetheireyesaremisaligned.So,glassescanhelpsomeofthembyhelpingstraightentheireyes.However,otherchildrenmayneedsurgerytostraightentheireyes,andtheymightstillneedtowearglassesafterthesurgery.Inothercases,suchaswhenachildhasamblyopia,adoctormightrecommendputtingapatchoverthegoodeyeforshortperiodsoftimetostrengthentheweakereye.Ifyouhaveanothertypeofeyeconditionthatimpairsyourdepthperception,talktoyoureyedoctoraboutthebestpossibletreatmentoptions.Youmightneedsurgerytoremoveacataract,forexample,ortreatmentforglaucoma.OthertipstocopeSomepeoplewithlimitedsightinoneeyebutgoodsightintheotherareabletoadapt.Theygetenoughvisualinformationfromtheirgoodeyetobeabletoperceivedepthsandmakejudgmentsbasedonwhatthattheydoreceive.Forexample,driverscanmonitorfactorsliketherelativespeedofothercarsontheroadandhowlightaffectscarsandotherobjectsonorneartheroadway.Thesespatialcuescanhelpyougaugethedistancebetweenyourcarandothervehicles.Thereareotherstrategiestotry,too.Forexample,beforedriving,findwaystoreduceglareandanythingelsethatcaninterferewithyourabilitytoseeasbestyoucan.Thismightincludecleaningyourwindshieldtoeliminateanygrimeordirtthatcaninterferewithyourview.Youcanalsodimtherearviewmirrorandangleyoursidemirrorstominimizetheglarefromtheheadlightsofcarsbehindyou.ProductsthatcanhelpCopingstrategiescandefinitelyhelp,butyoumightalsobenefitfromtheuseofcertainproductsorservices.Thesemayinclude:VisiontherapyChildrencanoftenbenefitfromvisiontherapytohelptraintheirbrainsandtheireyestogainorregainbettervision.Insomecases,thetrainingmayinvolvephysicalexercises.Eyepatchingcanalsobeapartofvisiontherapy.Adultswithcertaineyeconditionsmayalsobenefitfromvisiontherapy.SpecializedglassesIfyouplantodrive,youmaybeacandidateforspecializedglassesthatcanhelpyou.Yourdoctormaysuggestusingbioptictelescopeattachmentsonyourglassestomakeiteasierforyoutoseethingsthatarefartheraway.BetterlightingIfmovingaroundyourhomeisachallenge,tryalteringthelightingandcontrastincertainareastohelpyouseebetter.Forexample,ifyouhavetroubleperceivingdepthdifferencesatnight,tryimprovingthelightinginandaroundyourhome,soyou’renotcreepingaroundinthedark.Additionally,placingbrightlycoloredtapeontheedgeofyourstairsmayhelpyounavigatethemwithlessfear.WhentotalkwithyourdoctorIfyou’velongsinceadaptedtoaneyeconditionthataffectsyourdepthperception,youmayhavealreadydevelopedatoolboxofeffectivewaystocompensate.Butifyou’vejustrecentlysustainedaneyeinjuryordevelopedaconditionthat’saffectingyourvision,it’sagoodideatotalktoyoureyedoctor.Youmaynotbeawareofanydepthperceptionissuesyet,butyourdoctormaybeabletoexamineyouanddetermineifit’ssomethingyoushouldbemonitoring.ThebottomlineIt’seasytotakegooddepthperceptionforgranted.Butyoucanstillliveafulllifeevenifyourdepthperceptionhasbeenimpairedinsomeway.Youmaybenefitfromcertaintreatmentsorvisiontherapy,oryoumayfindaidstohelpyou.Manypeoplewithdepthperceptionissuesdevelopacombinationofstrategiestohelpthemgoabouttheirlivesasbesttheycan.Ifyounoticeanychangestoyourvision,besuretocheckwithyourdoctor,justincaseyou’reexperiencinganynewproblemsthatmayneedtobetreated.LastmedicallyreviewedonMay28,202010sourcescollapsedHealthlinehasstrictsourcingguidelinesandreliesonpeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicalassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.BoydK.(2018).Depthperception.aao.org/eye-health/anatomy/depth-perceptionCombeB,etal.(2011). Depthperceptionanddefensivesystemactivationina3-Denvironment.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00205Glossaryofterms:Vision,visualhealth.(n.d.)children-special-needs.org/vocvis.htmlGudgelDT.(2019).Recognizingandtreatingeyeinjuries.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/injuriesOpticnervehypoplasia.(2017).rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/optic-nerve-hypoplasia/RamachandranVS,etal.(2009).Twoeyes,twoviews:Yourbrainanddepthperception.scientificamerican.com/article/two-eyes-two-views/SchlueterMA,etal.(2010).Anewmethodtoquantitativelymeasuredepthperception.iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2372975Visualdistanceperception&depthperception.(2004).schepens.harvard.edu/images/stories/nire/distance-perception.pdfWhatisbinocularvision?(n.d.)children-special-needs.org/questions.htmlWhatisstrabismus?(2014).aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-strabismusFEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.—WrittenbyJenniferLarsononMay28,2020ReadthisnextOscillopsiaMedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.Learnaboutoscillopsia,includingconditionsthatmaycauseittooccur.READMOREWhatIsaLazyEye?MedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.Lazyeyeoccurswhenyourbrainfavorsoneeye,oftenduetopoorvisionintheother.Learnaboutthesymptoms,causes,andtreatment.READMOREPtosis:DroopyEyelidCausesandTreatmentMedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.Therearemanypossiblecausesofeyeliddrooping,fromnaturalcausestoseriousmedicalconditions.Sometimestheexactcauseisunknown,butother…READMOREEverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutCrossedEyesMedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.Crossedeyesoccurwhenyoureyesdon’tlineupproperly.Learnaboutthesigns,causes,andhowyoucantreatit.READMOREInternuclearOphthalmoplegiaMedicallyreviewedbyAnnMarieGriff,O.D.Internuclearophthalmoplegiaistheinabilitytomovebothyoureyestogetherwhenlookingtotheside.Itcanaffectoneorbothofyoureyes.READMORETetrachromacy(‘SuperVision’)Tetrachromacyisarareeyeconditionthatallowsforincreasedcolorvision.We’lltellyouaboutwhatcausesitandhowit’sdiagnosed,aswellas…READMORE9ReadingGlassesYouCanFindOnlineMedicallyreviewedbyDebraRoseWilson,Ph.D.,MSN,R.N.,IBCLC,AHN-BC,CHTWeroundedupsomeofthebestreadingglassesyoucanbuyonlineandinstyle.READMORE1-800Contacts:WhattoKnowBeforeBuyingOurwriterreviews1-800Contactsandprovidesherownexperienceusingtheservice.Learnaboutcost,howitworks,andmore.READMOREContactsDirectReview:WhattoKnowHerearetheprosandconsofbuyingcontactsfromContactsDirectandhowthey’redifferentfromcompetitors.READMORE