Vision - colour perception

[Misscbu17]

Hi,

Does anyone have this strange phenomenon- my right eye sees the world in a more dim light and my left eyes sees things brightly. So, for example if I look at a red cap, the left eye will see it brightly and the right eye sees a slightly duller red. Or if I look at a white unit, left sees bright white and right seems a duller white.

I wear glasses and vision is slightly worse in right eye, had a really extensive test today to check my optic nerve which was clear.

My main worry is this can be a symptom of MS and I’m experiencing a few other symptoms that could be related to MS (or stress and anxiety that I’m going through)!

I’m in a panic with all this so just wondered if anyone else has this!

:-) xx

I have cataracts and this is what it's like at the beginning.

Did you not discuss this during your eye test? Eye doctors are the very best people to ask.

Of course but they couldn’t give an answer, they’ve referred me to the hospital for further testing. Was just wondering if anyone else experienced this or if it’s the root of something else!

Probably isn't cataracts then, as those are clearly spottable during an eye test by the time you notice them (often before you do if you're doing an annual exam).

Is this a long term thing, or a new change for you? Sudden or do you think it's a slow problem that you just came to notice recently?

She did a thorough exam - what she called an eye X-ray and extensively looked into my eyes with lights etc and all looked perfectly healthy! So not sure it could be cataracts. It could just be something I’ve always had an suddenly noticed and now I’m obsessing over it along with the other symptoms
X

They did so many tests on me, much more thorough than a normal test. She called the X-ray and mri of the eyes as looks at everything include the muscle make up etc etc! My dad has glaucoma so I was getting worried it was that! She said my optic nerve looks healthy and so does everything else within the eyes. It’s so weird, I just feel like the lights have been slightly dimmed in my right eye, so things aren’t as bright. I can still see colours etc, there’s just a slight difference in colours between the eyes. When both open it’s not noticeable.

Optic neuritus can cause this, however, she said this would normally cause other symptoms and show when looking at the optic nerve.

She’s writing a letter to the hospital to see if they want to do further testing. x

It's a good idea to see someone else. My cataracts were misdiagnosed by an eye specialist!

Thank you, hopefully I’ll get a referral soon x

Hope you get some answers - glad they already did xray/mri, that's very helpful and rules out all sorts of unpleasant nerve/brain possibilities. Big thumbs up for that!

She said the X-ray ‘mri’ looks at the whole eye, however, there are things their machines can’t see, hence the referral. But she did say in her eyes everything looks good and she was super thorough. I had the worst headache all afternoon and evening because of the extensive testing and lights used.
With the other symptoms I’m experiencing - tingling in hands and foot and muscle jerks and twitching, they just want to rule everything out I guess.

I’m suffering health anxiety of late so I’m focusing on a lot of different things so I may well have had this for years and it’s just my make up xx

It was just an eye ‘mri’, however, I’m trying to get a full mri to rule out everything else but drs are being slow x

How long has it been like that, do you know?
I ask because I have always had this, I noticed it at least 38 years ago, and just assumed everyone saw like this. I think if it was a symptom of MS I might have developed it by now?
FWIW, I was diagnosed with long-sightedness about 12 years after I noticed, and I have a very different prescription in each eye- I assumed that colour thing was linked to different eye strengths tbh.

My father had glaucoma, and cataracts. I have my eyes checked every 12 months without fail.

We have 3 types of cells at the back of the eye that absorb light from the different parts of the visual spectrum so red cones, yellow comes and blue cones.
People have different amounts of these in different eyes (it is more complex than that as nerve fibres cross over before the reach the brain).
Many people have different colour perception in the eyes - but if you’re having MS symptoms it needs investigating.

Thank you for explaining, that makes sense and I would say the difference is a slightly more yellow tone, eg the light has been dimmed very slightly on that eye and when I look at a light it looks very bright in the ‘normal’ eye and not so bright in the other eye! I guess we aren’t symmetrical either are we! Thank you for that explanation xx

Yes!! I've had it all my life as far as I know, and thought it was normal, and everyone had it. One eye is bright clear colours, the other one is fractionally more dull, like you've turned the colour brightness on the telly down a bit. I recently mentioned it to my optician who said as long as it doesn't change or get more pronounced, then there's nothing to worry about.

I was talking to DH that evening about it, and he said he sees identical colours with both eyes. Cue lots of sitting there with one eye closed, then the other, peering at things. We rang MIL and she said she sees the same in both eyes.

DD then walked in and overheard. Turns out she's got the exact same thing as me, but in the opposite eyes. She too thought it was normal, and had never thought to mention it before!

I only noticed it about 3 weeks ago when I was checking my eyes as noticed my right eye was getting a little worse so was opening and shutting each eye to check and then I noticed it but I could have had it for a lot longer, it’s maybe something I’ve never realised before and it’s not often you close one eye and compare! I’ve now become fixated on it :-/

That makes sense, I have very different prescriptions in my eyes too and the eye I’m
Questioning is the weakest eye. So everything is sharper in the left eye I guess anyway! I also wondered if a lot of screen time and computer work (blue light) has an effect!

What does the world look like out of your eye that’s different? Xx

Yes that’s how I’d explain it, like the saturation has been turned down a notch And there’s a dull tint on things!

I’ve asked a lot of people and they could see the same out of each eye which worried me even more but I’m glad I’m not alone!

Glad I kept you occupied this evening hehe :-) xx

The only way I can think of describing mine is that with one eye, white looks very slightly creamy white, and with the other eye it is fractionally bluish. (Like all those white with a hint of something paint colours). So with both eyes together it looks completely white as they cancel one another out. Same with reds - one is slightly more orangey than the other.

Warm tone and cool tone.

I couldn't tell you what colours look like out of the eye that's different, because I don't know which eye is showing the real colour!

Yes, I have these. I am shortsighted and wear contacts, and go for all sorts tests every year, it's never been raised as a problem.

I notice it the most in the dark, when I look at the light that seeping round the edge of the curtains, and take it in turns through each eye. One eye I can see the light and the other barely at all.

It’s not just me!!
I have this as well. Tried explaining it to an optician and he looked at me like I was mad.
I explained it as each eye has a different ‘filter’ like when you take pics on you phone and can chant the filters

Change*

Yes totally get you - both eyes open looks normal! And yes , mine is more of a yellow wash like a dim light has been cast which explains what underneaththeash said about different colour tones. X

Yes exactly that - so glad I’m not the only one :-) x