Amblyopia issues

[Guest audi20v]

Hello,

I orginally posted this in the other forum, but think it probably makes more sense to be here...

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My career dream is to be a test pilot or at least some sort of pilot of high performance aircraft. I have a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a 4.0 GPA from a top school and I am currently obtaining my private pilot's license (13 hours with solo to date). Unfortunately, I have an eye condition called amblyopia, which means I have significantly reduced eyesight in one eye. Without correction, my vision is 20/40 in my left eye (good eye) and 20/80 in my right eye (bad eye). My left eye is near sighted and my right eye is farsighted. The most my eyes can be corrected to is 20/20 in the left and 20/40 in the right. I currently hold a third class FAA medical. I do not know if I could obtain a second class.

My question is whether I could ever get a pilot slot in the Air Force or Navy an eventually enroll in test pilot school. I believe that I have the academic qualifications and that getting into OTS would be no problem. But I don't want to set myself up for a huge disappointment. Are my dreams totally shattered, or is it possible?

Looking into other ways to get into the military aviation world, I've considered going to medical school and specializing in aviation medicine (since I've obviously got an interest in optical issues in aviation), or else obtaining an M.S. or Ph.D. in electrical engineering and going through test pilot school as an engineer. Can anybody comment on the viability of either of these career paths? While they're not pilot slots, maybe I would still get to do some flying with a 3rd class or at least be in the community? Nobody in my family is military, so I have no exposure to this world and have no idea how to get started.

Thanks very much for your help.

[Guest pilotsingerole]

Currently, amblyopia is disqualifying for AF (but in a very rare instance you may be able to get a waiver)...I would assume for Navy as well, but I am not certain. In addition, one eye being "farsighted" and one "nearsighted" is considered a "complex refractive error" and would also need a waiver. But the biggest downer is that you cannot get both eyes corrected to 20/20 near AND far. That is a must, and is never waivered.

The FC-1 flight physical is what you must pass to fly in many forms of military aviation for the USA. That goes for AF fighter pilot as well as Coast Guard helo pilot. So it's hard to circumvent. Plus, it is never taken into consideration how well you did in school or anything...they care only if you can physically meet the requirements to perform the job.

I am not a doctor, but if you use the search function on this website, you will find lots of info on amblyopia and not being correctable to 20/20...etc...

Hope this sheds some light...

[Guest Hydro130]

Yep, search is good.

Here's an older amblyopia waiver thread. Preferred technique 'round these here parts is to search first, find a relevant older topic and revive that thread if your questions still aren't answered. That helps keep the clutter down and the search engine more efficient...

Cheers, Hydro

[Guest audi20v]

For the record, here is my report of eye evaluation FAA FORM 8500-7 (9-97):

Heterophoria:

without correction:

(1) At 20 feet: ESO. 7

(1) At 18 inches: ESO. 5

Fusion: 200 seconds stereopsis (Titmuss test). Fuses at near diplopic in distance with Worth 4-dot test (dissociative)

Pupils: 4.5mm to 3.5mm both eyes. All reaction normal.

Visual fields: confrontation visual field normal both eyes.

Ophthalmoscopic: normal Fundus exam both eyes.

Slit lamp: normal slit lamp exam both eyes.

Intraocular pressure: Applanation method:

O.D. 16

O.S. 16

Visual Acuity (Snellen equivalents):

Uncorrected:

Distant Vision:

O.D. 20/60

O.S. 20/30

O.U. 20/30

Near Vision (18 inches):

O.D. 20/30

O.S. 20/20

O.U. 20/20

Intermediate Vision: Not tested

Corrected:

Distant Vision:

O.D. 20/40

O.S. 20/20

O.U. 20/20

Near Vision (18 inches):

O.D. 20/20

O.S. 20/20

O.U. 20/20

Intermediate Vision: Not tested

Symptoms or abnormal conditions:

Mild amblyopia O.D.

Only treatment glasses

So, there's my eyes all laid out. Do I have a shot? Is it even worth calling a recruiter or should I just go to med school now?

Furthermore, is there anyway to know if I will be able to pass all the medical exams required for UFT before signing the papers and enrolling in OTS? I only want to go to OTS if i can be a pilot (I don't care what kind, I'll even fly helicopters if that's what they tell me), and if I can't be a pilot, I will have wasted my time.

Thanks for your help.

[Guest pilotsingerole]

audi20v,

I have extensive experience with the regulations as far as what the AF requires for it's pilots. I am NOT a doctor, however, but I have been through the ringer on all these issues in my own pursuit of a pilot slot after OTS.

Problems with your eyes:

1.) Your right eye (O.D.) is not correctable to 20/20. Truth be told, it isn't even close to 20/20. If it were, say, 20/20-1 you might have a shot, but 20/40 is disqualifying.

2.) You have a good amount of esophoria. Google it and you will know what it is. The AF regs require 6 diopters or less at distance. You measure in at 7. However, that is highly waiverable and can fluctuate from day-to-day depending on how tired your eyes may be during an exam.

3.) Your depth perception is not anywhere near acceptable for military pilot. 200 arc seconds is barely acceptable for a driver's license. To pass an FC-1, you need to see better than 30 arc seconds. You are having depth problems because of your amblyopia. Your right eye is not giving your brain enough info to form a fused image and percieve good depth. I believe you would have a VERY difficult time passing the AF depth screening tests, mainly because pleanty of people have trouble with the screening tests and have perfect vision.

In conclusion I would say that you would be disqualified for FC-1 and probably FC-3 as well. That would disqualify you from all flying positions. Again, I am not a doctor nor am I in a position of authority, but I have read the regulations back to front and have a good sense of what is usually waived and what is not. The problem is that you have a number of vision problems - all of which compound each other. The AF will usually waive one vision problem, but generally not two if they work in association with each other. Certainly not three. In addition, your inablility to see 20/20 in your right eye would never be waived.

I hate to be a downer, but I am trying to help you make an informed decision. I know that when I was in your shoes with this process, I appreciated the candor of others on this site with my vision woes...

Best of luck.

[Guest audi20v]

In addition, your inablility to see 20/20 in your right eye would never be waived.

I hate to be a downer, but I am trying to help you make an informed decision. I know that when I was in your shoes with this process, I appreciated the candor of others on this site with my vision woes...

Best of luck.

Yeah, it kind of is a downer, especially since I just completed my solo for my PPL and I realized how much I would love to be a pilot more than anything in the world. I guess I will continue on with other plans. I may talk to a recruiter just for the heck of it, but you've pretty much confirmed what I feared - anything less than perfect DQs you. My eyes aren't bad, but they aren't perfect or even near perfect. The worst part is that amblyopia isn't correctable after age 11. I wore patches when I was a kid and got it from 20/200 to 20/20 uncorrected, but then it devolved later in my adolesnce and went down to 20/60 and now it's stuck there. If anyone reading this knows of a military pilot with a condition similar to mine, please let me know how they went about getting the proper medical and getting into flight school.

[Guest pilotsingerole]

Honestly, you don't have to have perfect vision - just good enough - but they are very clear that BOTH eyes must be able to see 20/20 corrected. Maybe you would qualify for surgury? Amblyopia is a brain condition. In other words, you brain is "used" to using your dominant eye and therefor ignores the other. If, by some chance, you do qualify for PRK (or even lasik as the AF will likely accept those surguries soon) I would look into it. If they can get your right eye even a little better with surgury, then maybe after surgury you would be able to see 20/20 with some glasses. It's worth a shot. If you do see 20/20 in both eyes, then your depth perception would likely fix itself in a year or so. One thing leads to another.

Just a thought. PRK is waiverable, Lasik is not, but will likely be approved in a few years. If you are young (like under 25 yrs), then I would DEFINATELY look into all this as "age critical" for the AF is 29 1/2 yrs. People get the surgury all the time and then wait for years to let their eye's settle and their brain re-adjust.

Anyway, never give up on your dreams. If you are certain that military flying is for you, then your work isn't done until you exhaust all options.

Best of luck.

[Guest P27:17]

Audi,

If you indeed have amblyopia and you are not correctable to 20/20 or better (distant vision) then you will not get a waiver.

Check with a doctor, but I don't think PRK is a viable option for amblyopia (If I hear differently or one of the docs here corrects me then I apologize).

[Guest Zerohour]

Well let me first say that i have read the other post on amblyopia and it did not answer my question. Let me give you some background on how i got this condition. At the age of 4 i was diagnosed with wilms tumor. The kidney was taken out and all went according to plan. Unfortuantley the chemo therapy in that day (1994) was not the best. The doctors knew what the side affects were going to be and my parents wanted me to live so upon the end of chemo therapy I got what is called the lazy eye and I was diagnosed with ADD (all this from chemo). Now I did not do the patching route what they put me on was the contacts that treat it and make the eye get stronger and move back to normal. Problem is that it fixed itself i would say 90%. So now 14 years later I have set me goals on flying and am having vison problems. My right eye (good one) is 20/20 and the left one(bad one) is 20/30-20/25. I am enrolling into texas tech this august and want to join the ROTC as my commisioning route, I am going to the eye doctor this week to start the treatment which involves contacts and eye therapy to get my bad eye to 20/20. If i was to achieve this number would a waiver be possible for pilot/nav? or will the fact that i had amblyopia DQ me with nothing insight.

[Guest P27:17]

Hey man,

I'll defer to the physicians on this one. My experience tells me that if your corrected vision isn't 20/20 you won't get a flying waiver. If I find out anything more I'll post it.

[Guest Zerohour]

Well I just returned from a civilian doc and There is good news and bad news and im a little confused.

So when i arrived the Technican had me do all the test, looking into the computer at the ballon and reading the eye charts and etc.

on a couple of the 20/20 charts i missed i would say 1 letter out of each with my left eye(bad). She put me down as Right 20/20 Left20/25

then when the doctor came she said by the reports and after looking into my eyes that i might have a small case of amblyopia but she was not going to rule that as the case until i have the depth perception and the madox-rod test(red lens) done july 6th. So she said it was no correctable and i was as you imagine heart broken. So i was asking her if there is anything to be done and she went ahead and did anyother eye chart test with me and i got 20/20 on both eye chart exams with my left eye the room was darker and the other room was really lighted up. So then she says well "you can read 20/20 we might have options". So she prescribes glasses to me for the left to get it to 20/20. So now it all up in the air because i will admit it was slightly blurry but other times i could read it fine.

[Guest P27:17]

Well I just returned from a civilian doc and There is good news and bad news and im a little confused.

So when i arrived the Technican had me do all the test, looking into the computer at the ballon and reading the eye charts and etc.

on a couple of the 20/20 charts i missed i would say 1 letter out of each with my left eye(bad). She put me down as Right 20/20 Left20/25

then when the doctor came she said by the reports and after looking into my eyes that i might have a small case of amblyopia but she was not going to rule that as the case until i have the depth perception and the madox-rod test(red lens) done july 6th. So she said it was no correctable and i was as you imagine heart broken. So i was asking her if there is anything to be done and she went ahead and did anyother eye chart test with me and i got 20/20 on both eye chart exams with my left eye the room was darker and the other room was really lighted up. So then she says well "you can read 20/20 we might have options". So she prescribes glasses to me for the left to get it to 20/20. So now it all up in the air because i will admit it was slightly blurry but other times i could read it fine.

Here is what one of the optometrists I work with had to say..."I'm assuming his acuities are best corrected. If so he must be a solid 20/20 to be qualified for FCI. There is no wiggle room for anything less. As far as the question whether a history of amblyopia is DQ'ing, my best answer is that people typically don't have a history of amblyopia. Once you have it, it's there to stay. Now certainly amblyopia can be improved with vision training, etc, however I'd be skeptical that a person who had amblyopia could rehab the eye to the point that they'd meet our expectations for FCI. There's typically someone reduction in vision (e.g. 20/20-) and likely some depth perception problems. Also, it doesn't make sense that chemo would cause a lazy eye. The chemo may have damaged part of the visual cortex that resulted in reduced vision, but that is not a lazy eye, that's a pathological vision loss.

Would he be DQ'd based on history alone? No. But, he's fighting a tough battle."

Good luck

[Guest Zerohour]

appreciate you looking into it and asking for info. And yes i reliazed that i do not have the Lazy eye from chemo the vison just got worst after it. But as i said i have 20/20 probly not perfect but im not going to quit till i get it to a consistent.

[Guest DJ Reverse]

Hey all like the OP I too have amblyopia in my left eye due to strbismus (a condition that turns that eye inward or outward thus causing the brain to pick one eye over the other.) My dream is to be a commercial airline pilot however due to my misfortunes mainly family health; I thought I'd go through the US Coast Guard. Pound for pound I understand the Navy, Marines, and of course the Air Force have more aircraft and especially more fixed wing variety; but something about helping people in danger appeals to me. In that case I thought I would apply for the 2014 academy class and hopefully get in; at 21 this is the last chance I have. I understand the system of OCS and Blue 31 but was wondering will my eye condition DQ me?

As a aside with both eyes I see 20/20 and do have normal field of depth and color (minus being able to see in 3-D) to the point that I am very good at telling different shades of green and pick up how far a car is away and tell speed. My left is the problem but as some doctors have said is very close to being perfect for someone with my condition and at 20/30 I hope their's a chance. For anyone with knowledge on this please tell me as I do have other routes I just want to make sure this one is still open.

Edited September 15, 2009 by DJ Reverse

[Guest goducks]

Hey all like the OP I too have amblyopia in my left eye due to strbismus (a condition that turns that eye inward or outward thus causing the brain to pick one eye over the other.) My dream is to be a commercial airline pilot however due to my misfortunes mainly family health; I thought I'd go through the US Coast Guard. Pound for pound I understand the Navy, Marines, and of course the Air Force have more aircraft and especially more fixed wing variety; but something about helping people in danger appeals to me. In that case I thought I would apply for the 2014 academy class and hopefully get in; at 21 this is the last chance I have. I understand the system of OCS and Blue 31 but was wondering will my eye condition DQ me?

As a aside with both eyes I see 20/20 and do have normal field of depth and color (minus being able to see in 3-D) to the point that I am very good at telling different shades of green and pick up how far a car is away and tell speed. My left is the problem but as some doctors have said is very close to being perfect for someone with my condition and at 20/30 I hope their's a chance. For anyone with knowledge on this please tell me as I do have other routes I just want to make sure this one is still open.

DJ,

I don't know much about USCG vision requirements, although if they're anything like the USAF I would be skeptical that you would get a waiver for having amblyopia, especially in light of the fact that your stereopsis (3D vision) is compromised. I know for a fact that you would not be waivered for the USAF and I can only assume that the same would hold true for the USCG, but again I don't know what their regs are specifically.