The government uses the term “legal blindness” to decide who can get certain benefits, like disability or job training. It is not the same as being totally blind. If you're completely blind, you can't see any light or form. Of the people with eye disorders, only about 15% can see nothing at all.
You may qualify for SSDI benefits or SSI payments if you're blind. We consider you to be blind if your vision can't be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye.
Note that legally blind is not totally blind. While legally blind people still might be able to see technically, people who are totally blind will not be able to sense light or see anything at all.
Part 1 of the U.S. definition of legal blindness states this about visual acuity: A visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better-seeing eye with best conventional correction (meaning with regular glasses or contact lenses).
The most straightforward way to qualify for disability is to prove that your vision is legally blind, or 20/200 or worse. This will automatically qualify for disability benefits. If you're not legally blind, there are still other ways to qualify, but you'll need to take some standard tests first.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines blindness as “central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens.” Note the phrase “the better eye.” In seeking disability for blindness or vision loss, it is not enough to be blind or more than blind in one eye.
If you have monocular vision or sight loss in one eye, we've put together some advice and answers to some commonly asked questions which we hope you'll find useful.
Part 1 of the U.S. definition of legal blindness states this about visual acuity: A visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better-seeing eye with best conventional correction (meaning with regular glasses or contact lenses).
Legally blind means a person has a corrected vision of 20/200 in their best-seeing eye. If visual aids such as glasses can correct a person's vision to 20/20, they are not considered legally blind. Totally blind refers to a complete loss of sight.
Blindness is common throughout the world and in the U.S. It can happen to anyone. In the U.S., an estimated 3.4 million people over age 40 are legally blind. There are many more people with low vision. There are about 43 million people in the world living with blindness, according to one estimate.
A person is considered legally blind if he/she has central visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better-seeing eye with best correction (using glasses or contact lenses) at a distance, or if he/she has visual field restriction where the widest diameter is 20 degrees or less in the better-seeing eye.
(Jul 2023) More than 12 million Americans over the age of 40 have some sort of visual impairment, with 1.3 million legally blind, 3 million who have vision loss after a correction, and 8 million who have an uncorrected refractive error.
Benefits and Programs
People diagnosed with legal blindness may be eligible for a number of assistance programs, such as federal Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), as well as tax breaks. Eligibility may vary for state and local programs.
According to the American Optometric Association, if you have a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse, even with correction, you are considered legally blind.
People who are blind or visually impaired are employed in as many diverse jobs as those who are sighted in the workforce. Individuals with vision loss can perform jobs across all industries, including marketing, human services, business management and administration, health science, law, agriculture, and more.
Visual acuity less than 20/200 is considered legally blind, but to actually fit the definition, the person must not be able to attain 20/200 vision even with prescription eyewear. Many people who would be legally blind without eyewear can function well in everyday life with appropriate glasses or contact lenses.
People who see well with only one eye are not considered legally blind, nor are people who wear glasses to see better than 20/200. Most legally blind people function quite well, especially if they have been visually handicapped since childhood.
Many people tries to experience “blindness” by closing their eyes. The darkness we experience isn't actually the same as being totally blind. In the logic of biology, there are still a reflection of the colors through the iris to the retina when you close your eyes.
Floaters, Gray Shadows in Your Vision, and Flashing Lights
These symptoms can signal a rather serious condition, the detachment of your retina. This happens when the layer of nerves in the backside of your eye detaches. This nerve layer is responsible for sending images to your brain, enabling you to see.
Went Totally Blind: People who have lost their sight have different experiences. Some describe seeing complete darkness, like being in a cave. Some people see sparks or experience vivid visual hallucinations that may take the form of recognizable shapes, random shapes, and colors, or flashes of light.
Recent access technology such as screen reading software enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications including the Internet. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968). Perhaps the most well known blind person was Helen Adams Keller (fig.