Television not clear

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
My husband, has among other things dementia. He wears multi focal glasses which work well until it comes to the television. I have tried moving the television nearer and then further and it seems as if his vision alters daily.Have any other members had this problem or solved it. Trouble is I do not think he gives a very accurate reading when he has his eyes checked yearly.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
I wear varifocals
With a TV at ~1500mm it does not matter whether I view through the top or bottom part of the lens, the add on is 2.5 dioptres
Can he read a book?

 

nae sporran

Registered User
Oct 29, 2014
9,213
0
Bristol
It's not quite the same thing but my OH has problems reading a book even with her reading glasses and large print. We came to the conclusion she just can't follow the text from one line to the next. I wonder if your husband sees the tv ok, but just can't focus on what is happening.
Sorry, I don't have a solution, as we just end up listening more to music.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,259
0
High Peak
Whatever the eyes see, the brain has to process so when the brain becomes damaged you get problems.

My mum struggles to interpret what she sees sometimes but blames her glasses. (If she hasn't lost all 3 pairs!) Other times she appears to read perfectly well without them. I know for a fact the last eye test she had was a complete joke - she just can't say whether 'this lens is better or that one'. She no longer watches TV as I don't think she can follow it anymore.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Does your husband have cataracts? I do and I experienced a major change in my vision within a few months and I found it impossible to read any of the programming on TV, finding it easier to read that without my glasses. Apparently I had what they call a myopic shift so I required new lenses. I also suffer 'dry' eyes and notice quite a difference if I haven't used lubricating drops which are available at a pharmacy and inexpensive.
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
I wear varifocals
With a TV at ~1500mm it does not matter whether I view through the top or bottom part of the lens, the add on is 2.5 dioptres
Can he read a book?
Thank you very much for taking the trouble to reply.
I wear varifocals
With a TV at ~1500mm it does not matter whether I view through the top or bottom part of the lens, the add on is 2.5 dioptres
Can he read a book?
Thank you so much for taking time to reply to me. I think what Jaded 'n' Faded posted further down describes my husband very well.
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
It's not quite the same thing but my OH has problems reading a book even with her reading glasses and large print. We came to the conclusion she just can't follow the text from one line to the next. I wonder if your husband sees the tv ok, but just can't focus on what is happening.
Sorry, I don't have a solution, as we just end up listening more to music.
Thank you for taking the time to try and help me. I think the posting from Jaded 'n' Faded has summed my husband up perfectly.
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
Whatever the eyes see, the brain has to process so when the brain becomes damaged you get problems.

My mum struggles to interpret what she sees sometimes but blames her glasses. (If she hasn't lost all 3 pairs!) Other times she appears to read perfectly well without them. I know for a fact the last eye test she had was a complete joke - she just can't say whether 'this lens is better or that one'. She no longer watches TV as I don't think she can follow it anymore.
This is my husband to a T. I actually do not think there is an answer and it is a progressive thing about this horrible disease.
thank you so much for the reply I don't feel so alone.
 

Sirena

Registered User
Feb 27, 2018
2,324
0
I agree it may be an interpretation problem, rather than a vision problem. My mother lost her glasses long ago but she can read magazine headlines out to me. However she has no idea what they mean. I don't think I have ever seen her watching the TV in the care home - a very big screen - because she can't follow what is happening. My gran had a slightly different problem, she started to go deaf in her late 60s but she had good hearing aids and could always hear everything perfectly. When she got dementia 20 years later, she kept complaining the hearing aids they didn't work properly any more. We came to realise that they did work - she just couldn't interpret what she heard. Very sad.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,259
0
High Peak
Just to add, I'd say generally speaking, my mum can see and hear pretty well. But I am learning to speak to her in 2 or 3 word sentences. Anything longer and by the time I've finished what I'm saying she has forgotten the first bit. A sentence doesn't make sense until you've listened to it all and retained it - mum can't do that. I no longer say, 'Look at that big black cloud - looks like it's going to pour down! Did you hear the thunder last night?' Now I have to break it down: 'Look at that!' i.e. get her attention first. She would ask, 'What?' Then I can continue, 'Look out there! (Point out the window) Up in the sky! (Short pause till she looks the right way.) A huge black cloud!' Then when she has focussed on it I can add, 'Do you think it's going to rain?' Unless I do it like that she just won't understand.

I only discovered this because I was worried about her hearing. Everything I said she would say, 'Pardon?' But it wasn't because she hadn't heard, she just hadn't been able to process what I said to her, so short sentences, with full explanations, are the only thing that work now.

With vision, she will often look out the window and misinterpret what she sees. 'What's that man doing on that roof?' No man there, just a dark shadow. Or, 'What's that black thing on the bed?' This was actually my jacket which I had taken off and put there just a couple of minutes before. She just didn't recognise what she was seeing. I also escorted her to the bathroom as she'd wet herself. I told her to sit on the loo and she asked 'where is it?' She was looking directly at it.

These things have got worse in the 2 and a half years she's been in the CH. I first noticed it early on when she swore blind there was no shower in her en-suite. There is, but it's a wet room so there is no shower enclosure. It just doesn't look like a shower to her.

It's so sad to watch the decline. But I admit I am totally fascinated by the brain and its complexities!
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,447
0
Kent
Hello @Ann Teak

I`m unable to wear varifocals so have single focus lenses in reading and distance glasses.

Have you considered trying single focus lenses for your husband?
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
Just to add, I'd say generally speaking, my mum can see and hear pretty well. But I am learning to speak to her in 2 or 3 word sentences. Anything longer and by the time I've finished what I'm saying she has forgotten the first bit. A sentence doesn't make sense until you've listened to it all and retained it - mum can't do that. I no longer say, 'Look at that big black cloud - looks like it's going to pour down! Did you hear the thunder last night?' Now I have to break it down: 'Look at that!' i.e. get her attention first. She would ask, 'What?' Then I can continue, 'Look out there! (Point out the window) Up in the sky! (Short pause till she looks the right way.) A huge black cloud!' Then when she has focussed on it I can add, 'Do you think it's going to rain?' Unless I do it like that she just won't understand.

I only discovered this because I was worried about her hearing. Everything I said she would say, 'Pardon?' But it wasn't because she hadn't heard, she just hadn't been able to process what I said to her, so short sentences, with full explanations, are the only thing that work now.

With vision, she will often look out the window and misinterpret what she sees. 'What's that man doing on that roof?' No man there, just a dark shadow. Or, 'What's that black thing on the bed?' This was actually my jacket which I had taken off and put there just a couple of minutes before. She just didn't recognise what she was seeing. I also escorted her to the bathroom as she'd wet herself. I told her to sit on the loo and she asked 'where is it?' She was looking directly at it.

These things have got worse in the 2 and a half years she's been in the CH. I first noticed it early on when she swore blind there was no shower in her en-suite. There is, but it's a wet room so there is no shower enclosure. It just doesn't look like a shower to her.

It's so sad to watch the decline. But I admit I am totally fascinated by the brain and its complexities!

This could be my husband. I have learnt not to ask a question if he is walking (with his frame) across the room because he is concentrating on one thing at a time.
Thank you for your post.
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
Hello @Ann Teak

I`m unable to wear varifocals so have single focus lenses in reading and distance glasses.

Have you considered trying single focus lenses for your husband?

Thank you for replying. Yes I have but I then worry that he might get up for the toilet,if I am not in the room, and forget to change his glasses over.
 

Ann Teak

Registered User
Mar 3, 2019
33
0
I agree it may be an interpretation problem, rather than a vision problem. My mother lost her glasses long ago but she can read magazine headlines out to me. However she has no idea what they mean. I don't think I have ever seen her watching the TV in the care home - a very big screen - because she can't follow what is happening. My gran had a slightly different problem, she started to go deaf in her late 60s but she had good hearing aids and could always hear everything perfectly. When she got dementia 20 years later, she kept complaining the hearing aids they didn't work properly any more. We came to realise that they did work - she just couldn't interpret what she heard. Very sad.
Thank you for the reply. I agree about interpretation.....sometimes the TV is too quick for him to have processed what he is seeing.