how to read a Snellen test card

[whitewolfm]

Hey,

Just a general inquiry about different techniques of reading the snellen test card. For now, I am sitting 10 feet away and reading the best I can. Would it be better to stand closer so I can see it clearly, and then stand further away as my vision improves?

Let me know your thoughts and methods.

[otis]

Dear whitewolf,

Subject:  Reading the Snellen.

The official distance is 20 feet.  At that
distance, 20/60 letters will be 1 inch high.

If that is not possible, then read the Snellen at
10 feet, in which case the 20/60 letters must be
1/2 inch high.

I have a nifty IVAC Snellen (for use on your computer)
that adjusts letter-size for distance.

You will find it at:

<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.myopiafree.com">http://www.myopiafree.com</a><!-- w -->

On the lower right hand side of the page.

Just "click and read".

To start the IVAC, just click on "display".

Let us know what you see.

Best,

Otis

[David]

10 feet away is fine. 20 feet is great if you have a big enough room and you can still read the first couple lines so you have something to work with, but it isn't necessary.

So just so you're speaking the same language, when you read each line of the chart that's noted say 20/50, convert it to 10/50. Just change the top part of each fraction from 20 to 10. Basically at the 10/50 example you're saying "I can read at 10 feet what someone with "normal" vision can read at 50 feet", which means they can read it further away than you.

Dave

[whitewolfm]

Thanks guys. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a test card that is good for both 10 and 20 foot distances; it has two sets of numbers. So the smallest line of letters is either 20/20 or 20/10, depending on how far away you're sitting.

Ok, so when you're sitting there, you read the smallest line possible. Do you use shifting or swinging to try to improve your vision for the duration of the exercise? Do you spend about 2 minutes on each eye?

[otis]

Wolf>  Ok, so when you're sitting there, you read the smallest line possible. Do you use shifting or swinging to try to improve your vision for the

Otis> Since you are reading the smallest line possible, then
that is 20/20.  There is no need for "improvement".
Go to the DMV, pass the 20/40 line, and get
arid of your minus lens -- forever.

Best,

Otis

[whitewolfm]

No, I'm not reading the smallest line, but I am reading the smallest line that *I* can read.

[otis]

And that line is the 20/60 line?

Otis

[David]

FLASHING

Palming is the act of softly covering your eyes with both hands, lightly cupped to avoid putting pressure on your eyes, and overlapped on your forehead, all with the purpose of excluding all or most light.  Relax your hands and face, dropping any unnecessary tension. Persons under chronic visual strain essentially strain in response to light, and palming provides a way to exclude all light in a manner that provides an instinctive sense of safety for the eyes and encourages relaxation.

Get in a comfortable sitting or standing position in front of the chart and palm, feeling the relief of the lack of light and the freedom to completely let your eyes be at ease. Continue for however long it takes your eyes and mind to feel more relaxed, whether it’s five, fifteen, or twenty minutes. Remove your hands and softly open your eyes, softly glancing at a single letter on the chart for only about a second, then closing and covering your eyes again. In essence you are seeing the letter in only a flash, then closing your eyes before you begin straining to see it or any other letter. Palm again for a good minute, allowing your eyes to drop any tension they may have built up in reaction to the light. The tension or feelings of strain upon opening your eyes are unnecessary and only a habit, one which you can overcome. Flash another letter, palm again, and slowly work your way in this manner down the chart. It’s important to pay attention to only one letter each time, as diffusing your visual attention by trying to see an entire line of letters at once is a misuse of the eyes and will only be counterproductive.

You may find that you are quickly able to read further down the chart than you did in the beginning. If you reach a point where you are unable to read further down the chart at the present time, feel free to stop for now and see what you can do next time.


SHIFTING

Start by looking at the bottom of the letter ‘E’ at the top of the chart. Softly dart your gaze to the top of the letter and notice that the bottom edge of the letter is not seen as well as the top, or doesn’t appear as deeply black. Look at the bottom of the letter again and notice that the top isn’t as clear. Continue looking back and forth, considering this, until you see the edge not directly regarded worse.

Move to a letter on the next line, repeating the process for every line.  As you are able to see the effect of the letter not regarded as being less clear for each successfully smaller letter, your vision will be adjusting to a more natural state and may noticeably become clearer. Spend at least several minutes at this before taking a break or trying something new. But if your eyes instinctively dart away from the chart once in a while, that’s fine – it’s natural to look away for an instant or a few seconds from something you’ve been working on intently, and the whole point of this process is to relearn your natural instincts in the use of your eyes.


THE SWING

Move your head somewhat rapidly in a wide arc back and forth, noticing that the chart on the wall, and the wall and entire room, appear to move opposite your head. Then notice the swing of the chart from slighter movements, until the smallest letters appear to move contrary to the eye as you look from one side of a letter to the other. Allow a continuous sense of easy, free movement for at least several minutes as you let the chart swing back and forth as you move your head and eyes in the opposite direction. The swing is a natural illusion that is only absent in the presence of strain.


THE BLACK DOT

It might help your shifting to imagine that each point your attention shifts to on a letter is a black dot that you carry with you and is always a deeper, more perfect black than parts of the letter not regarded. This black dot will change position constantly as your attention moves. This may help you to refrain from trying to see an entire letter clearly at once. When the letter is large, an attempt to see the whole letter equally clearly at once creates a strain, as you mentally push your eyes to do something they simply can’t do and force a corresponding physical tension on them. But even with smaller letters this is a very useful practice to further improve your vision by allowing your central vision to be clearest in a smaller and smaller area, until it reduces to the size of a point, just as it’s designed to be. (this will not happen at the expense of your peripheral vision, however)


WHITE HALOS

Everyone with normal vision sees a halo of white around black letters. It’s a contrast between the two opposite colors that makes you perceive the edges of letters, and the inside of letters such as ‘o’, to be brighter than the area away from the letter. These are known as halos. In contrast, people with poor vision do not see these halos as often. Their minds are in a strained, misused state.

So instead of looking at the blackness of letters, imagine the halos as you look at the white surrounding and inside the letters. It may be more relaxing to you than looking at black. The more you practice this, the more the halos will become apparent.


MEMORY

If you have a hand held chart, look at a letter at the distance at which you can see it best. Close your eyes and remember the letter. If your memory is unusually good (most people with blurry vision have poor visual memories), the letter may pop instantly into your mind. If not, just remember the experience of looking at the letter with perfect clarity. I say the ‘experience’ of it because our memories work such that you are not remembering the letter itself, but rather your own experience of seeing the letter. Take note of the pitch blackness of the letter as you remember it, reminding yourself that all letters on the chart exist perfectly black and perfectly distinct and that any blur you see is only in your mind. After a few minutes, open your eyes, looking at the same letter on the chart, while keeping in mind that it takes no more effort to see in the distance than it does to see near (or the reverse, if you’re farsighted: it takes no more effort to see near than it does to see in the distance). Repeat the process several times.

If you don’t have a hand held chart, look at a letter from a book or simply walk up to the chart as close as you need to in order to see a letter clearly, then walk back to a distance from the chart, close your eyes, and remember the letter as described above.

The swing can also be applied to the memory technique. As you close your eyes to remember the letter and remember its utter blackness, shift your attention from one spot of the letter to another. The blackness may deepen. As you shift your attention, note how the letter appears to move slightly, or swing, in the opposite direction of your shift.

Another option is to apply the imagination of halos, described in a previous section. Remember a tiny letter ‘o’, with the center as white as snow. Open your eyes and look at a letter on the chart for a few seconds only, without noting the clearness of the letters so much as your ability to imagine the snow white center.

Many people whose eyes are under a constant strain try to recall images as if they see them on the back of their eyelids when they close their eyes. Nobody is successful at this. The memory is not in that black or subdued grey field; it is in your mind. You “see� that dark field when you close your eyes only because you habitually continue to try to force your eyes to see. This is one reason I suggest in terms of remembering your experience of seeing an object, as that may get you away from trying to “see� it on the back of your eyelids and more towards recalling it in your mind where it really is.

Instead of closing your eyes to recall a memory of a letter, you can also try just looking away from the chart at a blank wall.


DO THE WRONG THING

Sometimes it helps to do things completely wrong, purposely straining your eyes even more. After palming as described in one of the previous sections, open your eyes and stare fixedly at the chart in an attempt to see an entire line of blurry letters equally clearly at once. You might feel a sense of strain or pain.  Continue at it as long as it takes to convince yourself that this practice of staring to see a large area equally clearly at once is a source of strain.

Another wrong thing to demonstrate is to stare at a small blurry letter you can’t distinguish in an attempt to see it. Fix your attention on it, make an effort. You’ll see the letter becoming more blurry, or disappear altogether if you concentrate hard enough. Your eyes may feel strained. The moral is you can’t see best by making an effort to see and directing mental force to your eyes in an attempt to make them see; you must allow the eyes to relax, a goal which all of these exercises seek to assist in.


DAILY PRACTICES AND GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

If you feel frustration, sadness, or anger towards the chart, then that’s what you’ll get out of the interaction.  From the day you hang the chart on your wall and see blurred and unrecognizable letters, you will continue to feel these emotions unless you consciously exercise your free will to control the type of energy you send towards it. Acknowledge that it’s there only to help you; smile at it when you pass; say “Good morning� to it every day if you need to, to establish positive feelings toward it and avoid falling into a funk whenever it’s time to get in front of the chart and practice some routines. This is very important, as people defeat themselves in any avenue of self-improvement with negative attitudes about the process or objects involved in it.

There is no need to stand at 20 feet for the purpose of improving your vision with the help of the eye chart. Some people feel more comfortable at 10 feet or various other distances, and the comfort you feel about your distance may play a significant role in how well you perform the exercises.

Practice in a well-lit room. Later on when your vision is excellent you can practice in a darker environment to improve your vision further. More light means more information for your eyes to absorb.

Read the chart twice daily, or more often, with either eye separately (covering the other eye softly with your hand) and both eyes together.

[whitewolfm]

Otis,

yeah I can make out 20/60 with my good eye, 20/80 or something with my left. And even when I can see something, it's still blurry and not perfect.


Dave,

Thanks. I cut and pasted that into my word; good to have a concise format for instructions.

[otis]

Excellent!  The purpose of Bates is to clear your Snellen and
pass the DMV.

I believe that Bates is about "empowerment", and that
this is a matter of clearing your vision yourself.

Most DMVs require 20/40 with both eyes, or
20/40 in the better eye.

The Bates method will help you personally verify
that you reach that goal.  Dave's site is to
help you in every way possible to achieve that
goal.

Best,

Otis