How do I know if I need glasses?

It's not always easy to know when you need glasses.

Vision changes can be sneaky. They rarely just show up one day as blurry sight,
problems reading fine print or street signs, or difficulty with night vision.

Instead, you’ll likely experience a very gradual decline in your visual acuity that
you may not notice at first. Or, you might start squinting or experiencing eye
strain, headaches or other discomfort that you didn't have before.

“The classic symptoms of needing glasses include headaches, eye aches,

frowning and squinting,” says Agustin Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, an optometrist
in private practice in Richardson, Texas. “Flashes and floaters, sudden loss
of vision or eye pain are things that should be looked at immediately.” Other
signs and symptoms that may indicate you need glasses include needing
brighter light to see or read clearly, seeing halos around light sources (like
car headlights and light bulbs), losing your place while reading, and distorted
or double vision.

Signs you may need glasses

The most common vision problems and eye conditions that will make you
feel you need glasses (or a change to your current eyeglass prescription)
include: Nearsightedness (myopia), which makes it difficult to see distant objects
clearly. Myopics usually are able to see well for close-up
tasks. Farsightedness (hyperopia), a condition where focusing on up-close
objects or tasks is challenging, but distance vision is normal. Presbyopia,
defined as the normal loss of near focusing ability that happens to just about
everyone sometime after age 40. Cataracts, or a clouding of the eye's natural
lens, which is the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40.
Cataracts are treated with surgery and the implantation of an intraocular lens
(IOL). Symptoms of computer vision syndrome from excessive use of electronic
devices with visual displays — including smartphones, computers and tablets —
also can be a
clue that you need glasses.

Eye strain, dry eyes, blurred vision, red eyes, burning, light sensitivity,
headaches and pain in the shoulders, neck and back are all symptoms of
computer vision syndrome. Anyone who spends a good part of their day staring
at LED screens is at risk for developing this condition, including children.
Treatment for computer vision syndrome is available, including prescription
computer glasses.

Do you need glasses? See an eye doctor

The best way to know for sure if you need glasses is to find an eye doctor near
you and schedule a comprehensive eye exam. Seeing an eye doctor is
especially important if you’re experiencing any of the vision problems described
above.

An eye doctor is the only person who know for sure if you need glasses (and
possibly other treatments to resolve your symptoms). During your eye exam,
Gonzalez advises that your pupils be dilated, providing the optimal “open
window" for your eye doctor to look directly into your eyes to evaluate your
ocular health.

“Even though there’s a lot of great technology that allows for imaging of the
hidden areas of the internal eye, dilation improves the quality of the image,”
he says. Good vision is essential for virtually all aspects of a normal life.
Staying ahead of any eye problems that may develop is the best way to
maintain healthy eyesight.

“Oftentimes we seek advice when things go wrong, but the big payoff is
keeping things from going wrong, and having an annual eye exam is one
way to do that,” Gonzalez says.

Overview
Glasses can help people see better, but you might not realize you need
them. Your eyes can change over time, so even if you had perfect vision
before,
that’s not necessarily a given later on.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimates that more than 150

million Americans use corrective eyewear. It’s not always clear if you need
glasses or not, so it’s always a good idea to see your eye doctor for a
thorough exam.

What symptoms might you develop

if you need glasses?
Your vision changes over time as you age. Not every change in
vision is abnormal. Things like needing more light to see clearly or
trouble differentiating black and blue, for instance, are normal and
don’t require glasses. But there are times when changes in vision
aren’t normal, and glasses may be warranted.

Some people who need glasses don’t have any symptoms, while others
have very clear symptoms. Symptoms of needing glasses can vary based on
the kind of eye issue you’re having. Some common symptoms include:

 blurred vision

 double vision

 fuzziness, as in objects don’t have defined, clear lines and things

seem a bit hazy

 headaches

 squinting

 objects have “auras” or “halos” around them in bright light

  eyestrain, or eyes that feel tired or irritated

 distorted vision

 trouble seeing and driving at night

This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list. If you notice any changes in

what’s normal for you, call your eye doctor. They can do an eye exam to see
what might be going on and how it can be helped.

Types of vision problems

The National Eye Institute (NEI) states that the most common kinds of
vision problems are refractive errors. This term includes:

 nearsightedness

 farsightedness

 astigmatism

 presbyopia

Refraction is when the cornea and lens of the eye bend incoming light so
that it’s concentrated on the retina, which is in the back of the eye. This
allows you to see. A refractive error occurs when the light isn’t able to be
focused on the retina, because of the shape of the eye. This can happen
because of aging or changes in the shape of the eye or cornea.

Other vision problems include things like age-related macular

degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts. These can’t be treated with glasses.
Nearsightedness

Nearsightedness, also called myopia, is when a person can see nearby

objects clearly, but when objects are far away, they get blurry. Someone might
have trouble clearly making out people on a television screen. A child might
have difficulty reading the chalkboard in school.

This condition occurs if the eyeball is too long, or if the cornea is too curved.
The American Optometric Association estimates that nearsightedness affects
approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population.

Farsightedness

With farsightedness, or hyperopia, objects that are far away are mostly clear,
while objects close by are blurry. This happens when the eyeball is too short,
or the cornea is abnormally shaped. According to the NEI, farsightedness
affects approximately 5 to 10 percent of the U.S. population.

Astigmatism

In astigmatism, light doesn’t get evenly distributed onto the retina, so

images can appear blurry or stretched out. However, not everyone with
astigmatism has distorted vision.

This condition can happen at any age. While most people have some kind
of mild astigmatism, those with more significant astigmatism might need
glasses to correct it.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia abnormally shaped. According to the NEI, farsightedness

affects
approximately 5 to 10 percent of the U.S. occurs in nearly everyone. It’s a
typical symptom of aging. According to Penn Medicine, individuals usually
start displaying symptoms of presbyopia between the ages of 38 and 42.

As we age, the eye isn’t as flexible as it used to be. When it’s not able to
flex as well as it did before, focus on nearby objects becomes impaired. This
is why many people need bifocals or reading glasses as they grow older.

The bottom line

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, see an eye doctor as soon
as possible. Even if you’re not having any symptoms, it’s a good idea to get
regular eye exams with dilation to ensure that you’re seeing clearly and to
keep tabs on your eye health.

Only an eye doctor will be able to do a comprehensive eye exam to see if

you’d benefit from wearing glasses. If the results indicate that you need
glasses, your doctor can speak with you about the kind of lenses that would
be best for your condition, as well as any other treatment.