Low Vision Care in Titusville More From the Sight You Have.

Have you been told there is nothing more to be done for your sight?

The newspaper is a blur. The oven dials are guesswork. You have stopped picking out faces across a room, and the last visit ended with a new prescription that changed nothing. Maybe it is macular degeneration, maybe diabetes or glaucoma. If it is your mother or your husband who has stopped reading the mail, bring them, and come along yourself.

There is more to be done. Low vision means an eye disease is getting in the way of everyday tasks even with the right glasses, and a low vision evaluation takes those tasks one at a time. Tell us what you miss most, and that is where we start.

What happens at a low vision evaluation?

It is built around the goals you name, not a general check of your eye health, and that is what makes it different from a regular exam. Dr. Koehnemann does the evaluation at Playalinda. Plan on about 90 minutes, all of it face to face with her, and there are no dilating drops, so you can drive yourself home.

The goal might be reading the paper, using your phone or tablet, watching television, working at the computer, reading price tags, menus, and medicine bottles, seeing the oven dials and the microwave buttons, or knowing who just walked in. We try magnifiers, telescopes, lighting, and other aids against that goal until we find what works for you, and we look at the glare and the safety of your home along the way.

What we work through together:

• The right low vision aids for your goal, such as magnifiers, telescopes, and electronic devices
• Sunglasses that cut glare and sharpen contrast
• The lighting you read by, and how to set it up
• Getting around safely at home
• A new glasses prescription, when one would help

Which low vision devices help the most?

Magnifiers for close work, telescopes for distance, better lighting, electronic magnifiers, and sunglasses that tame glare and lift contrast are the ones we reach for most. Each is matched to one task, so the magnifier that reads a pill bottle may not be the one you use for a book. You try them at the visit, and you decide what goes home with you. The point is never the device itself; it is the right answer for the thing you want back.

Stronger glasses usually cannot get these tasks back, which is why the last new prescription did not help. A device adds the magnification or the contrast that a lens in a frame cannot, and with the right one many everyday tasks come back within reach.

Who runs the Low Vision Clinic, and where?

Dr. Sarah Koehnemann, at our Playalinda office, 1114 S Washington Ave in Titusville, a single-story building with everything on one floor. She is a fifth-generation Titusville native who first shadowed Dr. Aker as a high school student. Her residency, at the SUNY State College of Optometry in New York City, was in primary eye care, ocular disease, and low vision. She came home, joined us in 2012, and started the clinic that same year. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. Once your appointment is booked, she sends a welcome packet so you know what to expect.

She also knows this from the kitchen table. Eight members of her own family have retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited retinal disease, and that is why she has worked with the Foundation Fighting Blindness since 2007 and leads Team Aker Eye in its VisionWalk every year. She works closely with the Division of Blind Services and the Brevard Association for the Advancement of the Blind, so if there is help beyond our office, she knows where to send you.

Does insurance cover a low vision evaluation?

Yes. The low vision evaluation is billed to your medical insurance, and a specialist copay may apply if your plan requires one. The devices are generally not covered; a magnifier or a telescope usually costs about what a new pair of glasses does, and you decide before you buy. Not everyone needs new glasses. If Dr. Koehnemann finds that a new prescription would improve your useful vision, a $50 refraction fee covers working it out. She also works closely with the Division of Blind Services, which may help eligible patients with the cost of the evaluation and the devices. Call us at (321) 269-2021 with your plan name and we will confirm your coverage before you come in.