Question from Andy: One of my greatest frustrations has been that my color blindness prevented me from passing the flight physical for a private pilot license. I used to fly gliders in Europe. They didn’t care about my color vision because gliders rarely fly in darkness. I recently came across a web site where they claim that corrective lenses will allow me to pass the Ishihara test (I failed the test on your site – Online Self Color Vision Test ). I inquired about it, and one of the local clinics who sells these lenses backed-up the company’s claim. One of the doctors assured me the lenses do work. The test and lenses are very expensive — about $1100.
They told me the lenses will indeed allow me to pass the Ishihara test, but they doubt that the FAA will allow me to wear the lenses in flight. Now I’m really confused. Any comments? Is this a viable product? If it is, then I’m willing to spend the money.
Question from Henrik: I’m from Denmark and have a small degree of colorblindness. I think it’s called deuteranope or something like that. I would like to know if there is anything that you can do about it to make it better or “repair” it????
I applied for the police academy here in Denmark and was turned down because of this. thank you very much for your help.
Question from LuAnn: ello, I have a son who is colorblind. A friend told me that glasses were developed in France that compensates for this. Have you heard of this?
Question from Chris: Protanopia and Deuteranopia – I have been diagnosed with the above visual abnormalities and I am currently a holder of a US Pilot’s License. As I have been diagnosed this affects my night flying ability. Is there any way this can be corrected using specific lenses either in glasses or contact lenses?
Answer: To my knowledge, congenital (you’re born with it) colorblindness is permanent and there is no cure or treatment. Tinted lenses, reportedly for colorblindness, have been recently introduced. The X-chrome Contact Lens (a red tinted monocular contact lens for colorblindness) has been on the market for decades. Yes, these lenses will help you pass some color vision tests, but so would looking through “any” red glass lens or piece of red tinted cellophane. It is unlikely that an examiner (e.g. Federal Aviation Administration) would let you use any of these devices to take their color vision test. Would these new lenses let you identify the red and green lights on an airplane at night or help you correctly identify different colored wires? I do not know. I have not read any credible scientific studies which validate these devices from a practical stand point. Personally, for me the jury is still out on the true benefits of these new devises.
You might find of interest what the Food & Drug Administration has to say about the ColorMax Lenses.
Quote: “The FDA has received a number of media inquiries about ColorMax eyeglass lenses, which are being promoted widely as a way to correct color blindness. Some of the claims in these promotions may be misleading.
The following can be used to answer questions:
ColorMax lenses, made by Color Vision Technologies, Inc., Tustin, Calif., were cleared for market by FDA in November. They are tinted prescription spectacle lenses intended as an optical aid for people with red-green color vision deficiencies. The lenses do not help wearers perceive or appreciate colors as people with normal color vision do, but merely add brightness/darkness differences to colors that are otherwise difficult or impossible to distinguish.
ColorMax lenses are designed to improve discrimination of specific colors that look the same to people with red green color deficiencies. However, discrimination of at least some other colors is actually impaired.
ColorMax lenses are not effective for people who are totally color blind. Very few people are truly color blind, and these lenses will not help them to see colors. Most people with color vision problems have partial color vision deficiencies that make it difficult to distinguish between red and green or between yellow and blue. FDA marketing clearance for ColorMax Lenses is limited to red-green color deficiencies, and does not include yellow-blue deficiencies or total color blindness.
ColorMax lenses are coated with colored filters using a technology similar to that used to apply anti-reflection coatings on spectacles and colored coatings on prescription sunglasses. The coating process is not new or “high-tech” as stated in some of the company’s promotional reports.
Although ColorMax lenses are the first such lenses to be cleared by FDA for commercial marketing in the United States, the idea is far from new. The use of colored filters as an optical aid for color deficiency has been reported in the scientific literature since the 1850’s,and at least two textbooks on color vision deficiencies contain entire chapters on the subject.
FDA is currently looking into the claims being made for this product.”