The Initial Progression of Physical and Perceptual Symptoms Associated With Aniseikonia

We aimed to evaluate the initial progression of physical and perceptual symptoms associated with wearing spectacles that produce unequal retinal image sizes in the two eyes (aniseikonia).

A within-subjects experiment (n = 20) was conducted to assess how symptoms change over one hour. Participants wore spectacles that contained a minifying lens (4%) over one eye and a plano lens over the other. They reported their physical and perceptual symptoms on Likert scales while performing activities that involved hand-eye coordination, locomotion, and viewing at distance and near. The main session included a one-hour adaptation period with symptom measurements taken before, during, and after. In a control session on a separate day, participants repeated the same activities but wore plano lenses over both eyes during the one-hour period.

There was a general trend for participants' symptoms to compound over time. During the one-hour adaptation period, when participants wore aniseikonic spectacles they reported significantly elevated symptoms, such as blurry vision, distorted percepts, and eyestrain. After adaptation, physical symptoms trended toward being similar or worse than in the control session, but most perceptual symptoms trended slightly better. However, these differences between sessions were not statistically significant.

Our results suggest that the initial progression of symptoms associated with aniseikonia includes a decrease in perceptual symptoms and a persistence of physical symptoms.

By anticipating the symptoms that people experience, we hope to improve patient outcomes as people adapt to new aniseikonic spectacles.