Symptoms of a macular hole include a gradual worsening of central vision or visual distortion (seeing straight lines as wavy).

The best way to detect a macular hole is through an eye examination. Your ophthalmologist will administer eye drops to enlarge the pupils temporarily so that he or she can check the back of your eyes (the retina) for holes.

The eyes are also painlessly scanned with optical coherence tomography (a light used to check the different layers of the retina) to evaluate the macula.