SPRINGDALE, Ark. — According to a news release from glassware company Enchroma, an estimated 3,700 people in Springdale alone are color blind. Nationwide, about 13 million people experience color blindness.
"I'm 48 years old," said Rogers resident Vu Ha. "So, I was 9 at the time that I learned I was color blind."
For more than 30 years Ha spent his life seeing muted colors.
"I just got used to it," Ha said. "So, I'm curious to see what it looks like."
Ha explains that he does not see the world as black and white, he just doesn't see all colors as vibrant as most.
"I see colors," Ha said. "Apparently, they're not right."
According to the news release from Enchroma, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are color blind.
"Color blindness is most effective with the red and green color tones," said Erica Kelso with Radiant Eye Care.
Color blindness is passed on genetically and is caused by an excessive overlap of the red and green colors in the retina.
For more than 30 years, Ha says he accepted that as his life.
"But I guess now I'm at the point where I don't have to accept it," Ha said after putting on his new glasses.
Ha and two others received the "Enchroma" glasses to take home. The glasses contain special optical filters to expand the range of colors that color blind people can see, according to Enchroma.
LOCAL: Sebastian County Election Commissioner removed from the position after felony record comes to light
"Put these glasses on and you can see a lot more shades, right?" Dallas Doty asked the group when trying on his glasses.
"It looks so much more different," Ha said while walking outside and exploring his new sight.
"So now I don't have any excuses for my black and gray wardrobe," Ha said.
He says he chooses to wear black and gray so he does not have the opportunity to "incorrectly" match colors.
He also mentioned how much the glass will be of help to him at work. Saying, he normally is not able to see the red and green on their graph charts, always having to ask a co-worker which is which. The same thing he says he does when at a stoplight.
"Which one is that? Which one is that?" Ha asked.
Each of the three people at the event were able to take home the glasses, helping them perceive colors better.
The Enchroma glasses can also be found at Crystal Bridges Museum. The museum loans the glasses to color blind guests to look at the art in full color.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.