Blog: To see, or not to see

By Sylvia, Peer Support Volunteer

Having ignored reminders that my free NHS eye test and check-up was long overdue; I finally made an appointment with a high street optician.

I have glasses for driving, but I have to confess they are languishing in the back of drawer. Now where have I heard that before? Ah, yes, hearing aids abandoned for several reasons, including not allowing sufficient time to acclimatise, social stigma or even purchased through a newspaper advertisement with no hearing test involved.

My hearing aid is my lifeline. and I look after it well, so it is time to look after my sight a little better?

The appointment

I made the appointment in-person so that I could make sure the optician would be aware of my hearing loss, would face me and speak clearly. The receptionist assured me that would the case.

On the day, she performed the initial tests, peripheral vision and a puff test. The latter measures your intraocular pressure (IOP) using a tonometer. A puff of air flattens your cornea, and the instrument senses the deflection and calculates your IOP. A raised IOP can indicate a problem in the eye such as glaucoma. She made sure I knew what to expect, so I felt reassured.

The challenges of the eye test

That changed however, when I met the optician, who was friendly, but spoke to me whilst typing on her computer. I told her I would be using my speech-to-text-app and that she would need to face me so that I could lipread.

I had expected an opportunity to raise any concerns or ask questions, instead I felt rushed into the eye test. The only question I managed to squeeze in was met with a cursory reply, still engaging with her computer screen instead of me!

I felt I had made some progress when she offered me the choice of equipment, the glasses with interchangeable lenses or the modern system with automatic lens changes. I opted for the latter, which meant I would have to hear a click each time the lens changed.

Initially, it worked well but then to the apparent irritation of the optician, I somehow got out of sync at the point in the examination where you are required to say whether lens one or lens two is clearer.

Asserting my needs

Inevitably, this made me more anxious, until I reached a point where I realised it was up to me to take charge of the situation. I suggested that she tap me on the wrist once or twice – it worked perfectly.  

The optician informed me (in a somewhat accusatory tone) that my sight had deteriorated in my right eye. I admit the comparative data meant little to me. As a result, I came away with a new prescription for distance. However, I had the distinct feeling that I had not got the most out of my optometry appointment. I was right, as having taken my prescription to another optician for frames; I discovered, to my dismay, that there was a marginal improvement compared to my vision without glasses and I would therefore need to repeat the test, but with a more informed approach.

My learnings from the eye test

What have I learned? Optometry and audiology appointments have a lot in common. The preparation and advice contained in our Helpful Hour webinar ‘How to get the most out of your audiology appointment‘ has a correlation with optometry appointments.

These are my suggestions for helping make visiting the optician for an eye test when you have hearing loss more manageable:

1. It is important to prepare and inform oneself in advance of the appointment. Make a note of any medication, concerns and lifestyle, so that the optician can take those factors into account.
2. Make sure that reception is aware of your hearing loss when making your appointment and be proactive during the examination to ensure your communication needs are met.
3. Do not leave without making sure you understand what your prescription means, and any issues are fully discussed. If you have any questions, thereafter, do not hesitate to go back for further clarification.