Vision when in reclined seating position

[dereklola]

Any vision experts out there?

I'm 74 with generally excellent vision - no need for driving glasses. I do use reading glasses but these are not needed for driving street cars or race cars. My optometrist tells me every year my eye tests are "excellent". My cars are (1) vintage Atlantic, (2) historic F3000 and (3) 2L CanAm.

I been trying to sit lower, more reclined as they did in the day but am not totally happy with this because it means my head is bent 'down' (chin on chest). Towards the end of a 90 minute 'enduro' the other weekend I guess I was getting a little tired and let my head/neck relax a little so that it was reclined backwards slightly more. To my horror I thought I was getting double vision - in fact I was - but as soon as I 'lifted' my head everything was normal again.

Put it another way - if I stand vertically and look straight ahead, horizontally, everything is fine. If I hold my finger straight ahead I can focus on it normally with either eye or with both eyes. If I lower my finger about 6", say about 15deg below horizontal, I can still focus on it with either eye but with both eyes open the two images don't merge into one - what I would call "double vision". It only happens downwards, not upwards or sideways.

The immediate solution is obvious - don't slouch - remember to keep my head 'up' - but is this phenomenon normal? - is it correctable? - is it age related? - is it a first warning that my racing days might be limited? etc?

Thx for any insights or help - Derek

[swiftdrivr]

I would see your medical doctor. Probably not your eyes, but the muscles that make your eyes move, or the synchronization of your eye muscles.
Let us know how it turns out, but if I spin in front of you, try to miss both of me!

[mark elder]

You need to see your family doctor and get the usual batch of blood tests for thyroid problems. You need to think if you ever broke your eye socket or came close in the past. You need to look at old photos to see if you ever tended to hold your head on one side (think school photos etc). Its odd you don't have symptoms reading (with looking down).

Once you have these results (whether they are normal or not), you need to see an Ophthalmologist (not a Optometrist) who specialises in eye movement disorders (often called Strabismus) of adults. Many Ophthalmologists are good at removing cataracts but won't know much about eye muscle stuff. The Paediatric Ophthalmologists are good at eye movement problems (lots of squinty eyed kids out there) but they usually don't do adults. In a group practice of say 10 eye doctors, there might be 1 that specialises in this area.

I would be just such a person but I am in the wrong country.

Mark
VD91

[DK540]

I have noticed the same thing if I am watching TV late at night, tired. Head more reclined and eyes looking low - not good vision; sit up more and eyes looking more straight ahead - problem gone. I'm 58. I figured there's some elasticity that simply deteriorates with age and I figured that's normal. However, I will consider the view of our friend from NZ and get it checked out!

David

[KAMcDonald]

with hans and headrest, i was getting to much chin-down position... i took a small seat cushion and mounted on the seat between my shoulders... got me looking straight ahead with no tension on the neck trying to fight to keep my head up.

[stephen wilson]

And from a different angle, you recently moved to a more reclined seating position? If so, return to sitting as upright as possible.

[S Lathrop]

I will give you another take on the problem. The problem is the shape of your seat back. Your back needs to curve from the waist up the shoulders. This will allow you to have your head and neck in a much more natural position.

I was 6'2" and 230 lbs. when I raced. I am have a long torso so I have a lot of upper body to fit into the cockpit. When I start a car fit, I remove every thing from the cockpit area. Then I climb into the hole and see where I have to add support.

Most of the seats I build have support at the base of the neck and upper shoulders. This helps relive the strain on you neck.

Vision is not your issue.

[RSR427]

I'm pretty short and find myself looking at the sky too when seated. I bolstered my seating area. You're asking a lot of your otherwise usable - but tired - eyes.

[racerdad2]

Thx for the seat info. I'm about to get my 89 Reynard on the track & was wondering how to get comfortable in the cockpit & still pass the broomstick. I've been concentrating on the bottom & lumbar areas. Neglected the neck & shoulders area where the helmet & hans really cram my head forward... Gets me thinking about re-engineering the cockpit head support and bracing for more room...

As for vision, I'm in tri-focal stage... I've had my optomitrist grind distance only lenses with the focal point set in relation to my head position in the car, not sitting in the exam chair... Warning lights give me all the inside cockpit info I need on track... or so I think ?

[dereklola]

All good stuff - both medically and racecar-seating-wise. Thx everyone. I think I'd already thought about every point made but it's still good to have things shared and confirmed. In particular I'll seek out a suitable ophthalmologist and not rely just on my routine optometrist. Thx Mark in NZ for your excellent points.

I agree with Steve's point about seat padding and personal fit but now with the added requirement of head angle for better vision - the big difference between the Atlantic and the F3000 was the extremely tight cockpit and rigid c/f of everything in the latter. In the short term (next weekend) I will just trim the height of the wind deflector ('windshield') slightly. I usually keep these as high as I can to reduce helmet buffeting but reducing it should encourage me to to keep my head at a better angle for vision - see pic.

[racerdad2]

You may want to take a 'sight seeing' vacation to NZ. Thx for being so candid, this thread has given me valuable 'insight'... OK, no more puns... Apex members have saved this noob a ton of time & $$$. Lessons I usually learn the hard way...