Metamorphopsia (wavy vision)
Straight lines appearing wavy, bent, or distorted — usually a sign of a problem at the macula (the central part of the retina).
Open VisualSim →What it looks like
Door frames bow inward. The bricks on a wall ripple. Letters in a word warp or bunch together. The horizon undulates. The distortion is most noticeable when looking at straight, regular patterns and is usually concentrated in the central few degrees of vision. The Amsler grid — a simple chart of small squares with a central dot — is the standard at-home test: if any of the lines look wavy, bent, blurry, or missing, that's metamorphopsia.
Common causes
Macular pucker (epiretinal membrane — a thin sheet of scar tissue contracting on top of the retina), wet macular degeneration (leaking fluid distorting the macula), central serous chorioretinopathy (fluid pocket under the retina, often stress-related in young adults), and macular hole.
Also known as
Wavy vision · Distorted vision · Bent straight lines