How to Know if It’s Time for Reading Glasses

One day the nutrition label on your cereal box is clear as day. The next day the letters and numbers look like an army of fuzzy dots. Presbyopia — age-related farsightedness that typically begins around age 40 — can sneak up on you and may lead you to wonder, “Do I need reading glasses?”

Learn about the condition, signs to look for, and when to see a doctor.

What Is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia means “old eyes” and is different from hyperopia, which is farsightedness unrelated to aging. The age-related condition is more of a nuisance than an eye issue with potential health implications, says Craig See, MD, an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Even as presbyopia progresses with age, it does not lead to loss of sight.

“It’s common for my patients who are in their forties to worry about changes in their vision,” says Laura Di Meglio, OD, an assistant professor of ophthalmology and primary care optometrist at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “They will tell me, ‘There’s something wrong with my eyes. I can’t see anything anymore.’ When I ask if it’s their reading vision that’s worsening or if it’s also harder to see when driving or watching TV, they typically tell me it’s just up-close vision that’s an issue,” she says.

In other words, in scenarios like the aforementioned, it’s likely not a rare or otherwise concerning issue at play, but rather presbyopia. Though age-related farsightedness isn’t reversible, it is typically solvable with the help of some reading glasses.

Common Signs of Presbyopia: What to Look For

Again, presbyopia is not medically worrisome. However, it’s nonetheless important to know the signs of age-related farsightedness, confirm the diagnosis with an eye doctor, and then take steps to help you bring the fine print back into focus — whether by stocking up on drugstore readers or discussing other options with your healthcare provider.

If you’re noticing vision changes for up-close details, first consider your age. If you’re around 40 or older, chances are you’re simply experiencing natural changes in the ability of your eyes to make out words and tiny objects, such as the eye of a needle, from a close distance.

Here are some of the telltale signs that your up-close vision may be on the decline and that reading glasses may be a helpful tool for you to consider.

• You find yourself holding anything you need to read at arm’s length in order to make out the letters.
• You find that when you read or do close-up tasks you’re increasingly searching for brighter light.
• You struggle to do tasks that require sharp close-up vision, such as threading a needle.
• You need to increase the font size on your phone, laptop, or other screen.
• It’s hard to recognize faces in photos.
• You get a headache after reading or doing close-up work, such as knitting or drawing.
• Your eyes feel strained or start to burn after you’ve been reading or looking at something close for an hour or so.

When to See an Eye Doctor for Presbyopia

While presbyopia is not a symptom of serious vision problems or eye disease, it’s advisable to see an ophthalmologist in the event of any vision changes. This is particularly noteworthy advice given that the age of onset for presbyopia may coincide with signs of other age-related eye problems.

“This is often the first eye examination a person will have, and it’s an opportunity for eye diseases to be detected at an early stage,” says Donald L. Budenz, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami and medical director at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at SoLe Mia.

The exam will also include tests that measure the refractive power of your eyes, which is their ability to focus on objects near and far. If you have developed presbyopia, the ophthalmologist will be able to determine how much help you need from corrective lenses to sharpen your vision. The provider can also discuss whether drugstore reading glasses may do the trick to help you see objects clearly up close.

You Have Your Prescription — Now What?

You can’t reverse presbyopia, but you can correct it. “If you don’t have issues with your distance vision, over-the-counter readers work well for most people,” says Dr. Di Meglio.

Once your eye doctor tells you what strength you need, she suggests going to the drugstore and trying out glasses by reading a magazine. “I tell my patients to first try the target strength that I suggest, but then also experiment with the strength above and below that to see what works best for them,” she says.

Nonprescription reading glasses from the drugstore or another source (such as an online eyeglasses store) won’t work for everyone, though. For example, if the close-up vision in one eye is very different from that of the other, you may need prescription glasses with different-strength lenses.

Additionally, people who already wear glasses or contact lenses for nearsightedness (myopia) or astigmatism may need prescription lenses to correct presbyopia. These might be bifocal, trifocal, or progressive glasses or multifocal contact lenses, says Di Meglio.

Other options for correcting presbyopia include:

• Monovision, in which contact lenses or refractive surgery correct one eye for near vision and the other for far vision.
• Corneal inlays, which are tiny devices implanted in the cornea (the outer layer in the front of the eye) to restore close-up vision.
• Prescription eye drops, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved to treat age-related farsightedness.

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   They work by temporarily making the pupils smaller.

No matter how you ultimately proceed, the best first step you can take is to visit an ophthalmologist. Together you can agree on a plan to bring the blurry world that’s right in front of your face back into focus.

The Takeaway

• Feel like you suddenly need reading glasses? If you’re older than 40 and are having trouble focusing on up-close objects and text, you may be dealing with presbyopia, or age-related farsightedness.
• Presbyopia is not an indication of eye disease or another serious medical condition. Even so, if you feel you may have presbyopia, it’s best to seek an evaluation from an ophthalmologist for guidance you on appropriate next steps.
• Often people can correct their presbyopia with drugstore reading glasses. In cases where this intervention won’t work, there are other options, such as contact lenses, prescription glasses, and surgery.