Eye Test Exams – A Walkthrough

Setting an appointment with your ophthalmologist or an optician for an eye test can be a stressful experience for those going in for the first time. Those who have already been to the eye doctor can also be anxious at times as they don’t know what the test results might indicate.

Our eyes and sight are part of our critical five senses and it is important that we take extra care and precautions to safeguard them.

Eye Test

To put you at ease, we are going to discuss and walk through the different types of Eyes Tests that an Ophthalmologist may conduct to check your overall visual prowess. A comprehensive visual exam may take over an hour or so depending on the number of tests to be carried out to fully evaluate your vision and eye health. 

1. Visual Acuity, Color Blindness, and Cover Test
   These are the most common and simple tests to check the sharpness of your eyesight, color vision, and individual eye health.
   
   A visual acuity test checks the sharpness of your eyesight. You will be seated and asked to read letters and alphabets from a chart or a projection which gradually decreases in size.
   
   Color Blindness eye test is performed early on to rule out color blindness and other hereditary issues.
   

   

   Eye Test

   
   
   And a cover test is where you keep one eye closed and asked to focus on distant objects and close objects to evaluate the focal capacity of your eyes. 
   
   
2. Ocular or Eye Movement Test
   
   
   As the name suggests, this test is conducted to check how well your eyes can follow the movement of an object. Your doctor might ask you to quickly shift your focus between objects and examine whether you face blurry visions, get headaches, or eye strain. 
   
   
3. Depth Perception (Stereopsis) Test
   
   
   A depth perception eye test tests your visual ability to perceive objects in the three-dimensional space. A common method of testing is where you will be asked to wear 3D glasses and given a booklet with shapes to identify patterns that look closer or further away to you. 
   
   
4. Visual Field Test
   
   
   Blind spots and peripheral restrictions occur gradually in our eyesight or can be caused due to glaucoma. If a patient previously had a stroke, brain damage can also result in blind spot occurrences or can be caused by tumors. The doctor may move an object side to side and ask you whether you can see it clearly as it moved further towards each side. 
   
   
5. Glaucoma Test
   
   
   This checks the pressure in your eyes. Glaucoma is a disease where your optic nerve is damaged due to high pressure in your eyes. During this eye test, your doctor may put a drop of numbing agent and be asked to stare straight into blue light. Then using the tonometer, the doctor gently touches the surface of your eye to check for eye pressure. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Refraction Tests, Auto-refractors & Aberrometer and Slit Lamp Exam
   
   
   Refraction Test and Autorefractors & Aberrometers are used to determine eyeglass prescriptions for your eyesight. A refraction test is a manual process where the optician puts a series of prescription glass lenses in front of each eye using an instrument called a phoropter. An auto-refractor is a device that does this automatically.
   
   A slit lamp exam is where the doctor asks you to stare into a binocular microscope to examine your eyelids, cornea, conjunctiva, iris, and lens.
   
   A routine eye exam is essential for all individuals. A timely eye test is strongly advised so that you can keep track of your visual ability and take corrective measures at the right moment.