My eyes were always closely matched until just over a year ago when for some reason the left became substantially worse for reading; it just adds blur when reading from a book or screen and I see more clearly by shutting it. In fact a significant amount of the extra blur may not even be down to a focal issue and possibly linked to the various other symptoms that led me to this site. It is frustrating as it is reducing my enjoyment of reading and making computer work more difficult and I now rarely get round to properly reading a monthly magazine that I have subscribed to for many years. I know I am a cheapskate so I’d naturally try to get ‘off the shelf’ reading specs but I cant find any that feature a different strength for each eye (not that I think I really need it for my right eye as long as the short sight is corrected with contacts). I seem to remember my optician flagging a problem with unbalanced reading specs but could be wrong in my recollection. Does anybody happen to know if it is ok to have a quite different reading prescription for each eye?
i always had to hold things at a distance to able to read and recently i have had to bring it closer to read been having pains in m y eye also so went to have them looked at and i was long sighted in one eye and short sighted in the other, cost me £100 for glasses and they are only for comp or reading use i didnt ask if it was common or not
Yes, quite normal. More important is the how and why of it.
I, for example, have bifocal glasses. My two eyes are very different, so when the correction for reading is applied, it is the same amount of correction to two very different lenses. My right eye is almost OK. At a push, I could drive on my unaided right eye, but I would not want to, and it would be a strain. If I read without glasses, I only use the left eye as the distance to sharp focus is very different between eyes. If you have contacts to correct for distance vision, then you COULD experiment with a pair of el-cheepo reading glasses that will correct for one eye, and removing the other lens.
You do not mention age. Do remember that the eyes can take a lot longer to change focus from closeup to distance as you get older, and my not even be able to focus close up (presbyopia). You really should consult a good opthalmologist on this, if a DIY approach does not work.
I have/had a left master eye, and wanted to use my right eye for target shooting (predominantly right handed) and used a special pair of glasses that put one lens corrected for pistol shooting in front of my right eye, and a translucent occluder in front of the left one. logic was that both eyes get the same amount of light, and this minimises differences in the muscle tension between the two eyes. The lens setup came from an opthalmologist who was a specialist in that particular field.
Geoff
Thanks Geoff, I’ll see if I can disassemble one of those £3- 4 ‘over the counter’ pairs.I guess the other option would be to sport a monacle!
Hi Bob,
I’ve had a similar problem to you, and have tried off the shelf cheapies, but my right eye is now so much worse, I’ve had to give in and have just ordered a proper prescription pair. I’m hoping they will help, but as I’ve got this silly clouding, double vision in my right eye, as well as colour loss from ON, and short sight I’m not convinced. Got to wait a week or two for them to be made up, but I’ll let you know if it helps at all.
I’m not sure about the monacle…could be an option!!
I have different vision in each eye have done since a child. I’d go back and get it checked if it’s bothering you.
I have different vision in each eye have done since a child. I’d go back and get it checked if it’s bothering you.
Thanks guys, yes do let me know how well the prescription solution works for you ‘hunny’.