Reading glasses but more far
January 7, 2022 3:39 PM Subscribe
I’ve recently been using +1 reading glasses when using my iPad at about arms length or a little closer to great success. My TV is about 3-4 meters away and I find myself straining my focus to watch as I used to with my iPad, but (of course) the reading glasses just make it blurry. Is there another strength I can try?
Don’t really want to go to an optician about this, my sight is fine by them, checked last year, I am just aging a bit.
Don’t really want to go to an optician about this, my sight is fine by them, checked last year, I am just aging a bit.
I have perfectly "fine" vision but I've got a few different prescriptions for glasses to make my life easier. I've got computer distance glasses with blue blocker and I've got distance vision glasses. They both make my "regular vision" worse, but even at the very tiny prescription strength, the difference it makes to my specific distance needs is huge.
Next time you're at your optometrist for a checkup tell them you are specifically seeking a prescription to enhance your vision at x feet. They will be able to help. My distance scrip is great for event distance--I wear them at the symphony/opera/theater and even movies. I also have my distance scrip on my sunglasses, and wow is it nice to be able to read street signs 50 feet sooner. And since the prescriptions are very simple I can get my glasses real cheap through Zenni or similar.
I don't need either of these glasses types, not really, but it makes seeing easier.
posted by phunniemee at 3:54 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Next time you're at your optometrist for a checkup tell them you are specifically seeking a prescription to enhance your vision at x feet. They will be able to help. My distance scrip is great for event distance--I wear them at the symphony/opera/theater and even movies. I also have my distance scrip on my sunglasses, and wow is it nice to be able to read street signs 50 feet sooner. And since the prescriptions are very simple I can get my glasses real cheap through Zenni or similar.
I don't need either of these glasses types, not really, but it makes seeing easier.
posted by phunniemee at 3:54 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Reading glasses are only going to help with near vision, i.e. arms length or closer. If your TV is really 3-4 meters (9-12 feet) away, then what you need are distance lenses, which I’ve never seen sold over the counter. Presbyopia is the most common age-related vision issue, but that makes your near vision worse, not the distance.
If your most recent eye exam said your vision was fine, then either your eyesight has changed a lot in the last year, or your optician did a bad job.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 4:09 PM on January 7, 2022 [13 favorites]
If your most recent eye exam said your vision was fine, then either your eyesight has changed a lot in the last year, or your optician did a bad job.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 4:09 PM on January 7, 2022 [13 favorites]
You could try going to a store and trying stronger + readers and see how they do on signs that are about tv viewing distance away. Reading glasses just give you some magnification - that's fairly easy to do. It's possible more magnification might do the trick. However, if you look at a prescription, reading glasses has a + measurement, distance glasses have -, they bend the light differently. But at 3-4 meters I'm guessing you actually need a slight prescription for distance, the opposite of what readers do for you.
posted by metahawk at 4:10 PM on January 7, 2022
posted by metahawk at 4:10 PM on January 7, 2022
You may need to get specific glasses for specific purposes.
Regular readers are designed for a specific distance, and watching TV s a little further than that.
I remember when I ordered my Zenni progressives they asked if the distance portion should be calibrated for far vision medium (desktop monitor / TV) or close up (book / tablet).
posted by kschang at 5:12 PM on January 7, 2022
Regular readers are designed for a specific distance, and watching TV s a little further than that.
I remember when I ordered my Zenni progressives they asked if the distance portion should be calibrated for far vision medium (desktop monitor / TV) or close up (book / tablet).
posted by kschang at 5:12 PM on January 7, 2022
I’m not sure I understand your problem. Do you want a single pair of glasses that will allow you to read your iPad at the same time as you watch your TV? Or do you want to be able to watch the TV as comfortably as your iPad, but not necessarily with the same glasses?
posted by clew at 5:38 PM on January 7, 2022
posted by clew at 5:38 PM on January 7, 2022
Yeah, that is considered distance vision, and for that you need glasses glasses.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:55 PM on January 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:55 PM on January 7, 2022 [5 favorites]
If you're willing to throw a few bucks at an experiment (until it's safe to get out and see your optometrist, because decay in vision can be non-linear with age), Amazon carries a few +0.25 readers.
posted by dws at 7:23 PM on January 7, 2022
posted by dws at 7:23 PM on January 7, 2022
If you can see your TV without glasses and you don't want to take your glasses off then you want a pair of half moon glasses or similar that you can peer over.
If you find it's blurry even with your glasses off, despite perfect distance vision, and want to experiment with less strong reading glasses for mid distance, you could pick some up at the drug store that are half the strength of the ones you have. The usual rule of thumb is that mid distance glasses are half way between distance (presumably 0, here, assuming your distance vision is perfect) and your reading strength - so +0.5 for you - but it's a rule of thumb and won't necessarily be perfect depending on the specific distance. Still, it ought to be a cheap experiment and you might well be able to return them if they're not good enough.
If you need distance vision glasses because your eyes have changed, then get a prescription from your optician along with as many suggestions from them as you can manage to get about seeing at distance X. I've never known an optician to sell cheap glasses, so you may not want to *buy* them there, but they should provide you with just the prescription. I usually don't mention that's all I want till after the eye test.
If you are experimenting with strengths a bit, need something a bit unusual, and you aren't 100% sure it will fly, then Zenni will make glasses to whatever prescription you want for not a lot of money and about a two week wait. (Other online companies also work, I just happen to have used Zenni.) The fit is not always perfect for any given frame - they try to help, but there's only so much they can do - so I wouldn't usually suggest them for glasses you'd want to wear while on the move, or for progressive lenses (which need to be matched to the level of your eye in the frame), but, for sitting still and staring at a fixed distance they tend to work out. Bear in mind that you could be throwing money away with whatever you order the first time, and don't go too fancy.
To order online you need a PD measurement, which your optometrist can provide more reliably than you measuring it yourself - although you can do it at a pinch.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:16 AM on January 8, 2022
If you find it's blurry even with your glasses off, despite perfect distance vision, and want to experiment with less strong reading glasses for mid distance, you could pick some up at the drug store that are half the strength of the ones you have. The usual rule of thumb is that mid distance glasses are half way between distance (presumably 0, here, assuming your distance vision is perfect) and your reading strength - so +0.5 for you - but it's a rule of thumb and won't necessarily be perfect depending on the specific distance. Still, it ought to be a cheap experiment and you might well be able to return them if they're not good enough.
If you need distance vision glasses because your eyes have changed, then get a prescription from your optician along with as many suggestions from them as you can manage to get about seeing at distance X. I've never known an optician to sell cheap glasses, so you may not want to *buy* them there, but they should provide you with just the prescription. I usually don't mention that's all I want till after the eye test.
If you are experimenting with strengths a bit, need something a bit unusual, and you aren't 100% sure it will fly, then Zenni will make glasses to whatever prescription you want for not a lot of money and about a two week wait. (Other online companies also work, I just happen to have used Zenni.) The fit is not always perfect for any given frame - they try to help, but there's only so much they can do - so I wouldn't usually suggest them for glasses you'd want to wear while on the move, or for progressive lenses (which need to be matched to the level of your eye in the frame), but, for sitting still and staring at a fixed distance they tend to work out. Bear in mind that you could be throwing money away with whatever you order the first time, and don't go too fancy.
To order online you need a PD measurement, which your optometrist can provide more reliably than you measuring it yourself - although you can do it at a pinch.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:16 AM on January 8, 2022
Yes, Try a +.25 or +.5 reader for the tv. As I got older I need a +.5 to a +1 for distance, with stronger strengths for reading.
This was confirmed by my optometrist. You can get them with or without a prescription, but the prescription ones tend to be clearer because they are made with your pupil distance.
posted by southeastyetagain at 5:36 AM on January 8, 2022
This was confirmed by my optometrist. You can get them with or without a prescription, but the prescription ones tend to be clearer because they are made with your pupil distance.
posted by southeastyetagain at 5:36 AM on January 8, 2022
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