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Jul 20, 2020
Sunu Band
| Published on | in Android | Apps | AT Devices | iOS | | |
Sunu Band. Obstacle detection using ultrasound.
This wrist-worn device can be used in addition to your cane or guide dog to help you to protect your body from running into obstacles.
The Sunu Band uses ultrasonic technology to detect obstacles in your way and gives haptic feedback, i.e. vibration, which will become more intense the closer you get to an object.
It works best above hip level, therefore it is not meant to substitute your cane or guide dog.
For example, the Sunu Band can detect plants or branches of a tree or signs being in your way. I considered it quite impressive that the device can detect a barrier strap spanned at about 1 meter height between to poles, which you might not be able to become aware of using your cane only.
The company also offers the Sunu app for this device to adjust some settings, The free app is available for iOS and Android.
There will more features in the future. On their website, Sunu currently announces a navigation app to come soon...
Find more information on the Sunu Website.
Also have a look at the review in Sam Seavey's video about the Sunu Band on his YoutTube channel "The Blind Life".
With USD 299, the Sunu Band device is (unfortunately) a bit pricey.
Using the Coupon Code offered in the video will give a 10% discount.
May 30, 2020
Jutta's Story - 20 years after being diagnosed
| Published on | in Personal | | |
"Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor,
und bin so klug als wie zuvor."
(And here, poor fool, I stand once more,
No wiser than I was before... )
[Goethe]
How can you explain to another person what you see (or better: what you do NOT see) .
Funny and not so funny situations due to visual impairment
by Jutta Miroiu-Dunker in August 2018
Here just an excerpt to make you curious:
20 Years Ago
About 20 years ago, when I was in my early 40s and living in Israel, I
had a few routine examinations at the ophthalmologist. As it seemed to
be something unusual to him, he referred me to the ophthalmic clinic of
the University of Jerusalem. They did all kinds of tests and
examinations and told me, that I got a macular dystrophy
- an inherited form like e.g. Stargardt's disease. A detailed diagnosis
was not carried out. In principle, this is irrelevant, because any form
of this eye disease cannot be cured. One eye was more affected than the
other. However, it was immediately brought to my mind that the
degeneration of the macula would progress slowly and that the second eye
might not be spared. The only "good news", they said, was that most
probably I would not go totally blind, since peripheral vision will
usually remain.
The
doctors just were surprised that I was already in my early 40s and
nothing was noticed ever before so. They told me, that this type of
"juvenile macular degeneration" (in contrast to the better known and
more common AMD, i.e., age-related macular degeneration) is usually
noticed in children/adolescents.
In the beginning…
At first, I had indeed not noticed any
problems. Just the usual "fatigue" after long hours at the computer to
do my job. Well, when the eyes get tired, straight lines are just don't
look straight, but a bit bent. This condition stayed that way for a while. Until that key moment about one year later...
Everyone knows a peephole in a door. And
probably, we always use the same eye to look though the fish eye. So do
I. Then, one fine day, it looked through the spy - and the hallway is
gone. "Yikes! There always was something to see!" I looked again and saw
- nothing. So I thought it might help to clean the fish eye, did that
and looked once more. And again - nothing. Strange ... Eventually I
looked with the other eye – and, lo and behold, the hallway was back!
I see! So that's how it is when the
central point of the retina (the macula) does not work properly anymore.
Suddenly there is only a gray spot. Well, as long as it's a small spot
and you can use the other eye to look through a peephole, it's not that
bad yet.
Unfortunately,
over time, this small spot in the macula grew slowly but constantly.
That is, the spot that only covered the small hole of the fish eye
became a larger spot. And also, this spot has different impact over distance.
20 Years Later
Just about a year ago [this was early 2018], actually as continuation of the previous chapters, the situation worsened quite more than just a bit.
Well, I could still recognize text, even
though even black text seemed "grayer and grayer". I could still work on
the computer as a translator. But for how much longer? I had no idea. For work I changed the monitor twice within the previous half year - now it is a 48"curved TV
with originally 4k resolution. Thus, at least accommodated all required
windows and data on the screen even at lower resolution (say larger
font). But still I had to change the resolution every few months. And
"looking around the corner" when reading or writing is more than
exhausting physically and mentally.
I was, however, hoping I could continue
like that a few more years-Maybe even more than the 3 years until
retirement age. Legitimate hope...
With all setups involving glasses,
different computer monitors, font sizes, and you name it, work is
literally just a lot of headache.
I
know, my eyesight will never get better. Slowly but unstoppably, it
becomes even more difficult to see what is in front of my eyes. All
this, even over the last few years, obviously had and has big impact not
only on my work but also impact on everyday activities. And this fact does often drive me to the edge of despair, with all sorts of emotional imbalances.
.
…at the end
Today, after having worked with this condition
worsening until last December, I had consulted my ophthalmologist
towards end of the year [this was still back in 2017]. But the new glasses I got for the computer were
not really effective, so it became more and more stressful and
basically impossible for me to do my job properly.
Well, so I was hoping my optician could
come up with something. But the always optimistic optician - before we
met, he had even set aside a nice new spectacles frame. - checked my
eyes and had to admit he had no more solutions for me. No new glasses or
the like that could help me anymore. He really felt sorry and somewhat
shocked.
OK, next step was to go back to the eye
doctor. And the same thing – no corrective lenses to help me. He, too,
seemed surprised and just asked "How do you still work?". Not that a
really had an answer for him …
Then
now, a few weeks ago[this was early 2018], during a routine check for my mother that I
attended, my ophthalmologist just turned around to me and said: "Your
mother's eyesight is much better than yours." And he added: "Are you
still driving?" –"No, surely not", I replied. "Very good", he continued,
"Because I know a lot of people that are legally blind and are still
driving a car."
------------------------------------------
About this text
Jutta's Story texts were originally written in 2016-2017.
Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind.
And I am proud to be a member of the Malta Society of the Blind.
No wiser than I was before... )
How can you explain to another person what you see (or better: what you do NOT see) .
by Jutta Miroiu-Dunker in August 2018
About 20 years ago, when I was in my early 40s and living in Israel, I
had a few routine examinations at the ophthalmologist. As it seemed to
be something unusual to him, he referred me to the ophthalmic clinic of
the University of Jerusalem. They did all kinds of tests and
examinations and told me, that I got a macular dystrophy
- an inherited form like e.g. Stargardt's disease. A detailed diagnosis
was not carried out. In principle, this is irrelevant, because any form
of this eye disease cannot be cured. One eye was more affected than the
other. However, it was immediately brought to my mind that the
degeneration of the macula would progress slowly and that the second eye
might not be spared. The only "good news", they said, was that most
probably I would not go totally blind, since peripheral vision will
usually remain.
Here just an excerpt to make you curious:
20 Years Ago
The doctors just were surprised that I was already in my early 40s and nothing was noticed ever before so. They told me, that this type of "juvenile macular degeneration" (in contrast to the better known and more common AMD, i.e., age-related macular degeneration) is usually noticed in children/adolescents.
In the beginning…
At first, I had indeed not noticed any
problems. Just the usual "fatigue" after long hours at the computer to
do my job. Well, when the eyes get tired, straight lines are just don't
look straight, but a bit bent. This condition stayed that way for a while. Until that key moment about one year later...
Everyone knows a peephole in a door. And
probably, we always use the same eye to look though the fish eye. So do
I. Then, one fine day, it looked through the spy - and the hallway is
gone. "Yikes! There always was something to see!" I looked again and saw
- nothing. So I thought it might help to clean the fish eye, did that
and looked once more. And again - nothing. Strange ... Eventually I
looked with the other eye – and, lo and behold, the hallway was back!
I see! So that's how it is when the
central point of the retina (the macula) does not work properly anymore.
Suddenly there is only a gray spot. Well, as long as it's a small spot
and you can use the other eye to look through a peephole, it's not that
bad yet.
Unfortunately, over time, this small spot in the macula grew slowly but constantly. That is, the spot that only covered the small hole of the fish eye became a larger spot. And also, this spot has different impact over distance.
20 Years Later
20 Years Later
Just about a year ago [this was early 2018], actually as continuation of the previous chapters, the situation worsened quite more than just a bit.
Well, I could still recognize text, even
though even black text seemed "grayer and grayer". I could still work on
the computer as a translator. But for how much longer? I had no idea. For work I changed the monitor twice within the previous half year - now it is a 48"curved TV
with originally 4k resolution. Thus, at least accommodated all required
windows and data on the screen even at lower resolution (say larger
font). But still I had to change the resolution every few months. And
"looking around the corner" when reading or writing is more than
exhausting physically and mentally.
I was, however, hoping I could continue
like that a few more years-Maybe even more than the 3 years until
retirement age. Legitimate hope...
With all setups involving glasses,
different computer monitors, font sizes, and you name it, work is
literally just a lot of headache.
I know, my eyesight will never get better. Slowly but unstoppably, it becomes even more difficult to see what is in front of my eyes. All this, even over the last few years, obviously had and has big impact not only on my work but also impact on everyday activities. And this fact does often drive me to the edge of despair, with all sorts of emotional imbalances.
.…at the end
Today, after having worked with this condition
worsening until last December, I had consulted my ophthalmologist
towards end of the year [this was still back in 2017]. But the new glasses I got for the computer were
not really effective, so it became more and more stressful and
basically impossible for me to do my job properly.
Well, so I was hoping my optician could
come up with something. But the always optimistic optician - before we
met, he had even set aside a nice new spectacles frame. - checked my
eyes and had to admit he had no more solutions for me. No new glasses or
the like that could help me anymore. He really felt sorry and somewhat
shocked.
OK, next step was to go back to the eye
doctor. And the same thing – no corrective lenses to help me. He, too,
seemed surprised and just asked "How do you still work?". Not that a
really had an answer for him …
------------------------------------------
About this text
Jutta's Story texts were originally written in 2016-2017.
Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind.
Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind.
And I am proud to be a member of the Malta Society of the Blind.
May 29, 2020
How you can trick yourself
| Published on | in Personal | | |
How easily you can trick yourself and others.
The "look around the corner" that I always mention, can trick oneself and others. For example:… at the optician
You may also trick an optician or ophthalmologist to a certain extent.
I found myself (with the still better functioning eye) "automatically" looking somehow next to letter chart of the eye test, and - thanks to years of experience and exercise – albeit mainly unwittingly - recognized the letters quite well.
I did that so well, that just a couple of years ago, an ophthalmologist told me that I could still drive a car.
"Ha-ha", I thought. If he knew how much I really do recognize, and why I gave up driving.
The letter charts still have a good quality - they are static and have a certain size. They don't disappear as fast as on a large poster, where suddenly some letters are missing.
And each and every twinkle of of the eye will change the picture...
… in everyday situations
Quite a few years ago, I was in a big electric store looking around for the TV offerings.
"Wow, how cheap are the 55" smart TVs!"
Well, that price changed immediately, when I stepped back a few steps. I had missed the thousand’s digit on the price tag.
Only when changing the line of sight and distance, I noticed the mistake...
What a pity. 300 Euros would have been a good bargain.
------------------------------------------
About this text
Jutta's Story texts were originally written in 2016-2017. Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind.
And I am proud to be a member of the Malta Society of the Blind.
Jutta's Story texts were originally written in 2016-2017. Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind.
And I am proud to be a member of the Malta Society of the Blind.
Despair and Other Emotions
| Published on | in Personal | | |
Emotional Roller Coasters.
Oh yes, it's not easy to admit, but at times I was desperate.Here are just some examples, how visual impairment affected my mood...
Impatience
Every
here and then I had my "lows". Be it because I was not able to put on
eye make-up for when I was invited to a function. Not being able to put a
nail to hang a picture, or not being able to cut along a drawn line. I
am more and more bad-tempered, edgy, and impatient.
Burst into tears and anger
These not so nice qualities paired with a feeling of incapability lead to "explosion" many times.
So,
for example, Xmas eve at friends two years ago. I was not familiar with
the apartment house and not aware of the tricky layout of the floors.
When my mother and I left, we took the lift. Our taxi was waiting
outside. I pressed the button which I assumed would be for the ground
floor (actually, I did not see the buttons well). When the lift door
opened, we found ourselves in a basement level leading to the other side
of the block. And the taxi driver, who called in the meantime, did not
believe that we got "lost in the staircase".
OK,
back into the lift and up again. At the next stop, I opened the door
and tried to see, where we ended up. It wasn't the correct floor either.
But unfortunately, my mother had closed the lift door and continued
travelling further up.
Now
what? Where was I, where was she? Out taxi was long gone It was some
kind of an odyssey to find ourselves and friends' apartment again.
But
when we got back in, I just burst into a flood of tears. Even though my
friends tried to calm me down and explained, that the layout of the
house is very tricky, I just felt that I was worth nothing, not able to
use a lift, not able to get my mother the right place, not being able to
do anything right….
And
I blamed everyone around, that they have no idea how I feel and what it
is to lose your vision. – Well. I did not use the nicest words, but
unfortunately they really do not know what it is like ...
Unfortunately, this happens to me quite often and I haven't learned yet how to control that emotion.
Better cancer than blind
I even uttered things like "I'd rather have cancer and know I'd only a few months to live, than not being able to see".
This for sure is one of my most stupid thoughts, and I hope I will not come up with more like that …
Fears and worries
"Legally
blind" does not mean, I am totally bind. But I am and feel restricted
in what I can do. Therefore there are quite some fears and worries
concerning different aspects.
On
is, that I'm afraid I cannot help my mother if she needs help quickly
to but a bad-aid at the correct spot or remove a sting from her finger
or the like. Just to imagine some "normal" situations …
The
other is, that I don't know how to make my living until (and after)
retirement age. Besides that, I would not know what to do with all the
"spare time" I will have when I'm not working …
Living in a "cloud"
And there is another weird aspect of mental state. I mostly feel like in a bubble or in a "gray cloud".
Since focusing at something is impossible and I would always have to "look around the corner",
I usually keep my eyes rather relaxed when walking or sitting
somewhere. I have the feeling, that this puts me in a kind of "standby"
or "sleep" mode, meaning that I do lose interest in things around me,
because I'm not "focused".
------------------------------------------
About this text
Jutta's Story texts were originally written in 2016-2017.
Since end of 2018 I am officially legally blind..
And I am proud to be a member of the Malta Society of the Blind.