# Ray Charles -- What's the real deal with the blindness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323 "2004-05-03T19:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/1 "2004-05-03T19:34:55Z")
* * * [http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Mus...reut/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Mus...reut/index.html) I adore this guy. The article says he’s extremely weak from having hip surgery, but there are rumors he has liver cancer. Either way, he’ll be missed by me. However, I have heard so many stories on how he lost his sight. Does any one know the true facts on this? This article says he went blind from glaucoma. But the one I heard (which he also commented on) says it is hysterical blindness brought on by his witnessing his brother drown. Another story said it was the byproduct of another illness. Does anybody really know? ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/2 "2004-05-03T19:49:58Z")
Your link doesn’t work for me. I’ve always heard it was glaucoma, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me considering how young he went blind. Isn’t glaucoma usually an old person’s disease? Also, I’d imagine if it were hysterical blindness it would have cleared up by now. Isn’t this really more a GQ? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/3 "2004-05-03T20:11:02Z")
[fixed link](http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/30/ray.charles.reut/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/4 "2004-05-03T20:25:10Z")
> [@Fiver](#): > > Your link doesn’t work for me. > > I’ve always heard it was glaucoma, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me considering how young he went blind. Isn’t glaucoma usually an old person’s disease? > > Also, I’d imagine if it were hysterical blindness it would have cleared up by now. > > Isn’t this really more a GQ? It’s about an entertainer, so I thought it would go here first. If that’s incorrect, I’m sure a mod will move it. As far as the hysterical blindness goes, I’ve heard that it depends on the person. I’ll try to find a link for that. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/5 "2004-05-03T20:32:49Z")
Well, it looks like glaucoma is the answer. I wish I could find that thing about the hysterical blindness…oh well… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/6 "2004-05-03T20:33:14Z")
Gawd, please don’t let it be from masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/7 "2004-05-03T20:35:28Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Gawd, please don’t let it be from masturbation. If it is, I’ll bet Lieu has already placed his order for a kilo… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/8 "2004-05-03T23:24:32Z")
> [@Fiver](#): > > Your link doesn’t work for me. > > I’ve always heard it was glaucoma, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me considering how young he went blind. Isn’t glaucoma usually an old person’s disease? > > Also, I’d imagine if it were hysterical blindness it would have cleared up by now. > > Isn’t this really more a GQ? No, it’s not just an old person’s disease. I’ve been “at risk” for glaucoma since I was 18. Every time i get my eyes checked, the doctors get all alarmed and make me go through various more tests to make sure I don’t have it…(yet). ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/9 "2004-05-04T00:04:35Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Well, it looks like glaucoma is the answer. I wish I could find that thing about the hysterical blindness…oh well… I remember reading back in the sixties that although he was blind he did have sight until 5 years of age. It was mentioned that he saw his brother drown but I don’t recall anything having been said about his brother’s death causing his blindness. The hysterical blindness thing, while possible, is more than likely a publicist’s idea or a figment of someone’s imagination that was repeated often enough to gain credibility. At any rate, I’ve always heard his blindness was caused by glaucoma. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/10 "2004-05-04T00:28:32Z")
From the [Glaucoma Research Foundation](http://www.glaucoma.org/learn/myths.html) website: > [@](#): > > **Myth #1** > Glaucoma is a disease that only happens to older people. > > **Truth** > Everyone is at risk for glaucoma from babies to senior citizens. Yes, older people are at a higher risk for glaucoma but babies get glaucoma (approximately 1 out of every 10,000 babies born in this country is born with glaucoma), young adults can get glaucoma, and African-Americans especially are susceptible at a younger age than Caucasians. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-whats-the-real-deal-with-the-blindness/243323/11 "2004-05-04T05:45:01Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Gawd, please don’t let it be from masturbation. [Hijack] When I was a kid, I was always that it was sex itself that caused blindness, not masturbation. When I hit my teens, my eyesight started failing in my right eye only. Being the worrier that I am, I assumed that, since I was going blind in ONE eye, it was the product of sex without a partner.