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.
