Night Blindness: Illuminating This Disruptive & Disabling Condition (2024)

FAQs

What is the condition of night blindness? ›

What is night blindness? Night blindness, also known as nyctalopia (pronounced “nik-tah-LOPE-ee-uh”), is when you have trouble seeing in dim or dark settings. It can happen if your eyes have trouble quickly adjusting to changes in brightness or have issues with detecting light.

Nyctalopia refers to night blindness or difficulty of the eye in visualizing under dim light or at night; daytime vision, however, is unimpaired. Nyctalopia is due to the eye's inability to adapt quickly from lightness to darkness.

Severe night blindness is generally considered a medical disability and, in some circ*mstances, can make you eligible for benefits.

Night blindness is one of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency. In its more severe forms, vitamin A deficiency contributes to blindness by making the cornea very dry, thus damaging the retina and cornea.

If you have night blindness, you should still live an independent lifestyle. You may find everyday tasks easier if you have plenty of bright and even lighting around your home. Does night blindness get worse? Some of the age-related changes that happen to our eyes contribute to worsening night vision.

One of the early signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness (nyctalopia). If you have night blindness, you have trouble seeing well in the dark, but you can see normally if enough light is present.

Night blindness caused by nearsightedness, cataracts, or vitamin A deficiency is treatable. Corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contacts, can improve nearsighted vision both during the day and at night. Let your doctor know if you still have trouble seeing in dim light even with corrective lenses.

The outlook for night blindness depends on the cause. The cause will have a range of straightforward treatments in many cases. This can be as simple as new glasses or contact lenses or adapting to a different diet. More severe cases may require surgery.

Night blindness is generally a symptom of an underlying ocular condition that involves the health of the retina, though it can also result from severe or worsening myopia, or a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency is one of the most common causes of night blindness.

Night blindness, or nyctalopia, refers to poor vision that occurs in dim light or darkness. Like presbyopia and myopia, night blindness can pose a dangerous threat to driving at night because it limits the visual capabilities of an affected driver.

How much does SSI pay for blindness? ›

If You Are Blind Or Visually Impaired

You may be entitled to receive Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). To learn if you or someone you know may be eligible for these programs, visit our Disability Benefits or SSI Benefits pages.

Night blindness that is caused by nearsightedness and/or astigmatism can be treated with corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses that contain an updated and appropriate optical prescription.

People with night blindness often have trouble seeing stars on a clear night or walking through a dark room, such as a movie theater. These problems are often worse just after a person is in a brightly lit environment. Milder cases may just have a harder time adapting to darkness.

Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is an inherited retinal disease (IRD) that causes night blindness in childhood with heterogeneous genetic, electrophysical, and clinical characteristics. The development of sequencing technologies and gene therapy have increased the ease and urgency of diagnosing IRDs.

What is Usher syndrome? Usher syndrome is a rare genetic disease that affects both hearing and vision. It causes deafness or hearing loss and an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Sometimes, it also causes problems with balance.

Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is an inherited retinal disease (IRD) that causes night blindness in childhood with heterogeneous genetic, electrophysical, and clinical characteristics. The development of sequencing technologies and gene therapy have increased the ease and urgency of diagnosing IRDs.

Presbyopia is the gradual loss of your eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects. It's a natural, often annoying part of aging.

Night blindness that is caused by nearsightedness and/or astigmatism can be treated with corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses that contain an updated and appropriate optical prescription.