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Vision correctable to 20/20 but not good enough for naval aviation?

feddoc

Really old guy
Contributor
C420 offers good gouge regarding dehydration, rest, etc. Also stay away from anything which might impair O2 transport....alcohol, heavy exercise, carbon monoxide, etc.
 

Zarathustra

New Member
Thanks you all for the advice ,

I picked up my glasses today and scheduled an appointment for my PRK surgery next month (tentatively). I haven't worn glasses in about 10 years and even then I didn't wear them for more than a week. I am still having a little trouble reading the aviation charts I made with specific lighting in both eyes (much more in my left) but they keep informing me that my brain needs To adapt to the glasses since I've literally never worn corrective lenses and I will be able to see clearer after a week of continual use and more after 2 weeks. They had an interesting projection chart that made the lighting similar to the aviation charts unlike the illuminated goodlite ones I am used to. I could read 20/20 in both eyes and even better through a pinhole naturally. Not so sure how I feel about becoming dependent on glasses but if I can prove on the 30th to the flight surgeon that I can read every letter perfectly it will give me a hell of a lot more confidence going into the surgery.

Something else interesting is that my farsightedness seems to fluctuate daily. My glasses are +.5 and +.75 but they calibrated my prescription through a machine at +.75 and +1.35 hmmm. Well he assured me that it is normal and a pain in the butt for farsighted candidates. Because of this he also informed me that he will under correct my farsightedness and see how my brain adapts over the first few days and weeks and go back for additional surgery if necessary.

Lastly, to me reading letters on an eye chart seems to measure simply quantity of vision while taking only a small amount of quality into account. Probably why these aviation charts are designed to weed out those with less than perfect vision by designing them around quality. With my charts set up with the proper lighting, letters, line spacing etc. I will begin practicing 30-60mins a night reading the letters. If I can simply memorize how to interpret shapes into letters I think this will greater my chance of success, we'll see.
 

Zarathustra

New Member
Hello again,

I went to the base last week and had great success. I read all of the charts thoroughly! Everyone's advice was great, thanks again. The flight surgeon said he could waive me as an NFO due to the high demand right now but not as pilot which wasn't enough for me. I am scheduled for the PRK surgery Sept. 19th, wish me luck!

Also I am wondering (as I can't seem to find any particular information) how much these budget cuts, going into the next 1 or 2 years, are going affect the demand for naval aviators. I scored very high on my astb and asvab but the slots for OCC candidates are even slimer than undergrads. There are no slots open for the summer course 13' but i am hoping in the winter there will be more alots available for pilots. Again I am going in as a Marine pilot and any advice is welcomed and greatly appreciated, thanks.
 

Zarathustra

New Member
Jtmedli,

It turned out ok. I had some complications. My left eye is 20/15 on a good day and my right still has some astigmatism so it's like 20/35 ish. And yes, it's been about 3 years since the first surgery.

I am just curious why you didn't get an enhancement surgery to fix what the first surgery missed ?
 

jtmedli

Well-Known Member
pilot
Jtmedli,

I am just curious why you didn't get an enhancement surgery to fix what the first surgery missed ?

I did have an enhancement but the one eye was already within limits and the doctors didn't want to mess with it. I had eye surgery 3 times total due to the complications (corneal haze developed after the first surgery).
 

Zarathustra

New Member
Jtmedli,

I did have an enhancement but the one eye was already within limits and the doctors didn't want to mess with it. I had eye surgery 3 times total due to the complications (corneal haze developed after the first surgery).

Geez man I truly am sorry to hear that, it sounds like that was a long arduous process, but hey you passed the exam, got to where you needed to be despite the complications! Also I am not sure but in a few years when your prescription changes (if) you might be a candidate to get it done again if you were willing.

I had PRK done on Monday and managed to develop a staph infection on the outside of my left cornea (I think I got it from the gym and it was at bay until the surgery) I have 3 antibiotic drops and my eyes have been through hell already but luckily the infection is nearly gone by today despite the discomfort. I am optimistic about the future, we'll see.
 

shutout39

Member
pilot
Also, you'll note the name of the letters are called 'Sloan' letters, which are on most Snellen charts today. Looks like the biggest tricks are that the C is almost fully closed to make an O and the N and H look like they could be mixed up if you go too fast.
 

egd33

Member
pilot
Contributor
Also, you'll note the name of the letters are called 'Sloan' letters, which are on most Snellen charts today. Looks like the biggest tricks are that the C is almost fully closed to make an O and the N and H look like they could be mixed up if you go too fast.

Geez, the C, D, and O almost look the same, though the D is weird because it is way more rounded like an O on line 2 than on the other lines. I can get 20/40 no problem, but I am worried about 20/20 with correction. I got it perfect with both eyes with no correction on the box you look into at MEPS (would not call it easy though, but I also had about 45 minutes of sleep the night before from worrying), but this definitely looks harder and with correction I am marginally better than without in my right eye (only corrects for -0.5 astigmatism). Do you know if you have to get all 10 letters with each eye or if you read the left half with the left eye and right half with the right eye? I wonder because most of the lines have a lot of repeat letters on each side and a line separates the middle.
 
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