On particularly bad days, Searle is unable to see where his darts land but he hopes his tale can serve as an inspiration to other sufferers.
“It was only in the last 18 months that I realised what the diagnosis was,” said Searle.
“It’s been bad for as long as I can remember.
“There’s no cure for what I’ve got so I’m stuck with it. I wear contact lenses now to try and take a bit of the blurriness away from my vision.
“But sometimes on stage I’m asking the caller what I’ve scored and it puts me in a bit of a difficult position.
“If I can inspire people that maybe can’t see as well to pick up the game, then it means a lot to me.”
Last week, Littler revealed he had surgery as a child to correct his eyesight.
The 18-year-old was treated at Warrington Hospital to repair strabismus – a condition where the eyes do not align.
Searle has raised more than £10,000 for the Cure ADOA Foundation and has asked some of his opponents in the tournament so far to donate shirts to raffle off to raise more money.
He hopes that a cure can be found so that his daughter, who is registered as visually impaired, can drive a car when she’s older.
“It’s a hereditary condition, so I’ve passed it to both of my children,” he said.
“My son doesn’t have it as bad as as me, but my daughter has it really bad.
“When it gets to about six feet, she can see, but after that her vision gets really bad.
“So, if I can raise a lot of awareness for that and try and find a cure for it, that means a lot to me.”
