Find Your Dominant Eye

You may have heard or read the term "dominant eye" but what exactly does it mean? Do you have one eye that performs better than the other? Or is it just for people who wear ophthalmic lenses for weak eyesight?

Let's discuss what dominant eye means and how you can find your dominant eye with a simple DIY test.

What Does Dominant Eye Mean?

Almost everyone has a dominant eye, or ocular dominance, regardless of whether they have weak eyesight or not. The term refers to the eye that provides a nominally higher degree of contribution to the part of your brain responsible for vision.

This "dominant eye" helps your brain better understand the location or distance of objects in your field of vision. People with perfect eyesight and completely healthy vision have a dominant eye that is simply the preferred or leading eye.

However, the term is also used to describe the normal or functional eye of people who suffer from conditions that cause dysfunctional eyes.

So, how can you tell which eye is your dominant eye?

Find Your Dominant Eye (Sighting Test)

Here is a step-by-step DIY test that will help you determine which of your eye is your dominant eye.

1. Focus on a distant object (8-10 feet away) with both your eyes open.

2. Extend one of your arms out with a finger or the thumb in an upright position and place it in front of that object. Do not worry if your finger or thumb seems partially see-through; this is perfectly normal.

3. Now close one eye at a time, or you can use your other hand to cover one eye at a time.

4. The eye that keeps your finger or thumb over the object while the other eye is closed is your dominant eye.

Congratulations, you now know which eye is your dominant eye.

You have just performed what is known as a sighting test. While sighting tests are simple to perform and typically give an accurate result, they are not a hundred percent correct. There are a few non-visual factors that may affect the results of sighting tests.

Some experts argue that non-sighting tests give more accurate results.

Non-Sighting Test

A non-sighting test involves keeping your eyes open and separately introducing visual stimuli to both your eyes using specialized optical devices. Due to the complexity of non-sighting tests and the expertise and equipment needed to perform them, not everyone can get tested.

These resources are normally only available in research labs and specialized vision clinics.

Conclusion

The easy-to-perform, DIY sighting test explained above is perfectly capable of accurately identifying your dominant eye. Most people will find their dominant eye through simple sighting tests. However, if it seems like that there is no dominance at all, then it is likely that both eyes are dominant.

Hence, each eye is dominant for particular visual tasks, and they both take turns to perform more accurately and powerfully.

If you want to learn more about how to find your dominant eye, more DIY tests, or about ophthalmic lenses for yourself or your business, please visit our website today.