What Happens During Eye Exams?

Answer 1

Eye exams are offered by optometrist offices and retail locations that sell glasses. You can have an eye exam performed in a shop at the mall, or in a clinic at a doctor’s office. No matter where you have eye exams done, there are some basic steps that are always part of the exam.

The Famous Chart on the Wall

Everyone has seen the eye doctor’s famous chart to test vision. Modern doctors still use this chart as a way to gauge a person’s distance vision. The chart has large letters and numbers at the top and a series of smaller letters and numbers toward the bottom. The eye doctor will ask you to read the smallest line of type that you can. Where that line of type is located on the chart will determine how far you can see accurately.

More Technical Equipment

There are more updated tests that happen during eye exams as well. After the eye chart test, you will be escorted to a large chair that looks like a dentist’s chair. Once you sit down, the optometrist will lower a large metal mechanism that has a place for each eye. As you gaze through the mechanism, the eye doctor will change the lenses on each eye until he or she finds one that gives you the sharpest vision. That lens setting is then recorded as the strength you need your glasses to be so that you can see well. The mechanism also tests for other eye problems that can be found when one eye is closed off and the other can see.

Testing the Curve of Your Eye

A test that is sometimes performed is meant to measure the curve of your eye. It is your eye’s curve that allows you to focus properly. If the doctor tests the curve of your eye, it means that you probably need corrective lenses so that you can see well. The amount of curve or the lack of curve gives the doctor an idea of how to treat your sight problems the most effectively. Sometimes this will determine whether or not you can wear contact lenses or glasses for vision correction.