# Do you notice when your glasses/contact prescription needs to be changed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305 "2014-12-15T17:08:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/1 "2014-12-15T17:08:59Z")
In [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742102) thread it was mentioned that one of the reasons that you should have your eyes checked every year is that your glasses/contacts prescription could have changed and you do not realize it. I have heard this before, as if someone’s vision can get substantially worse without a person realizing it.\* I will admit that the first time that I did get glasses as a teenager it was somewhat of a revelation of how clear things could be. However, after that, I have a mental benchmark of how clear things should be. I find that I can notice when I am a quarter of a point off. Am I unusual in this? One of the big tip-offs is road signs at night. If you squint, do the road signs’ text clear up a bit? Your prescription might not be optimal. Looking at text from a projector in a dark room? Additional difficulty determining faces at distance? Do you notice or not notice when you need to get new contacts/glasses? \*Yea, I’m sure there are circumstances where this can be true. Some little old lady that is half senile and never leaves her home might not realize that her distance vision is deteriorated. I am talking about active adults. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/2 "2014-12-15T21:22:57Z")
I certainly do! It’s harder to read, and harder to see my computer screen! The effect is very definite, and not at all enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/3 "2014-12-15T23:18:30Z")
I do not. Never have. My eyes have always been getting worse at a fairly rapid clip, but I never notice it until I’m getting yet another stronger prescription. I cannot afford new glasses/contacts every year, so I don’t go in that often. If I did, I’d get new ones every year. I tend to go in every three or four years, when they’re so scratched or so uncomfortable that I can’t put it off any longer, and just sit through the lecture about how I really need annual visits. But every new pair of glasses or contacts is like that first moment of brilliant clarity all over again. Now that I’ve hit 40, I’m hoping that may slow down a bit. My opthamologist just winces when I ask if middle aged presbyopia can “cancel out” myopia, or at least slow it down. 😃 I’m seriously looking forward to getting cataracts, so I can get artificial lenses paid for by insurance. I just hope I get them before a retinal detachment. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/4 "2014-12-15T23:20:27Z")
Absolutely - I find myself squinting and leaning toward my monitor. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/5 "2014-12-16T00:32:21Z")
I think that without an objective metric, everybody is overestimating their ability to measure their own vision. Either that or your vision is rapidly deteriorating. I mean especially with myopia. All people don’t have the objective experience to say for sure, and confirmation bias makes this harder. Night driving is not completely related to your absolute acuity. > [@WhyNot](#): > > Now that I’ve hit 40, I’m hoping that may slow down a bit. My opthamologist just winces when I ask if middle aged presbyopia can “cancel out” myopia, or at least slow it down. 😃 Sure - it will cancel out your near vision and make you uniformly bad! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/6 "2014-12-16T00:44:36Z")
I definitely notice when my vision changes, have all my life. The big frustration right now is that I can’t afford to get upgraded glasses. It’s been something like 3 years and the eyestrain is aggravating, but I don’t have the money for new lenses. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/7 "2014-12-16T00:49:01Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Sure - it will cancel out your near vision and make you uniformly bad! Seeing as my near vision ends 5 inches from my nose, I don’t know if I’ll miss it! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/8 "2014-12-16T01:03:02Z")
Yes. I find myself reading less and enjoying it less. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/9 "2014-12-16T01:07:54Z")
I didn’t used to notice, but the last year or so I have. I’m just at the point of needing reading glasses, or bi-focals, or some other solution. I didn’t used to have to take off my glasses to read my phone comfortably. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/10 "2014-12-16T01:24:45Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > I didn’t used to notice, but the last year or so I have. I’m just at the point of needing reading glasses, or bi-focals, or some other solution. I didn’t used to have to take off my glasses to read my phone comfortably. I very recently got progressives. I’ve been reading stuff by looking under my small frames for a couple years, and it got to where I was starting to hold things closer than normal reading distance, too, so I figured I looked enough like a weirdo from tilting my head up and holding small print (like ingredients at the store) up to neck distance if not closer, it was time to take the plunge into the more expensive lenses. Totally worth it! And to answer the OP, yes, I’ve been very sensitive to Rx changes since I started wearing glasses/contacts as a teen. Somewhere in my mid-20’s, my Rx for myopia has gotten less strong - which also presents itself as blurred distance with glasses on. I was probably 28 when my optometrist asked me if I realized my Rx was getting less strong as the years went on. I said, no, I just knew fine distance viewing was getting blurry. Apparently that can happen with over-correction, too. He said that by keeping up with my changing vision, it helped with improving acuity. Not that the myopia would ever go away, but I kept it from getting worse somehow. Anyway, after having yearly changes in my distance vision finally stop and has been static for about 4 years (weird!), now I need 1.5x reading power. It just seems to never end. I’m hoping my reading Rx stays the same for a while and I can just keep wearing these lenses since they’re 4x more expensive than my single-vision ones were. I went from 5 pair to play with and interchange and match with outfits to just this one. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/11 "2014-12-16T01:57:09Z")
I get a new pair every January, this is when my private health care benefit amount resets. Yes I have lots of pairs with no real change, but cool to have one at work, in the car, in the shed, in the bedroom, in the kitchen etc as I cannot read without them! ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/12 "2014-12-16T05:11:46Z")
When I first started to need glasses in my mid-20s, I didn’t know it. I was getting headaches, but didn’t know why. Since then I have noticed when my eyes change. I have great vision insurance and I go to every year and get an exam and a years worth of contacts or a new pair of glasses. Since my prescription hasn’t change in a few years I have prescription glasses and sunglasses, and the last few years I’ve gotten contacts. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/13 "2014-12-16T05:13:55Z")
I didn’t really notice it for years, even though I needed a stronger prescription every three years or so. However, now that I need bifocals, I definitely notice. ---
**Author:** ![agilpro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@agilpro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agilpro)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/14 "2014-12-18T07:28:32Z")
My prescription has been stable for quiet a while, but I used to be able to tell by how well I was seeing at night, if I had trouble it was time for a change in my prescription. Another indicator was how well I could see thru a window screen, if I could see things clearly everything was ok, but if my eyes focused on the screen I knew it was time for a trip to the eye doctor. Once I needed bifocals or progressives I could definitely tell when the reading portion needed to go up. ---
**Author:** ![agilpro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@agilpro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agilpro)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/15 "2014-12-18T07:35:10Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I very recently got progressives. I’ve been reading stuff by looking under my small frames for a couple years, and it got to where I was starting to hold things closer than normal reading distance, too, so I figured I looked enough like a weirdo from tilting my head up and holding small print (like ingredients at the store) up to neck distance if not closer, it was time to take the plunge into the more expensive lenses. Totally worth it! > > And to answer the OP, yes, I’ve been very sensitive to Rx changes since I started wearing glasses/contacts as a teen. Somewhere in my mid-20’s, my Rx for myopia has gotten less strong - which also presents itself as blurred distance with glasses on. I was probably 28 when my optometrist asked me if I realized my Rx was getting less strong as the years went on. I said, no, I just knew fine distance viewing was getting blurry. Apparently that can happen with over-correction, too. He said that by keeping up with my changing vision, it helped with improving acuity. Not that the myopia would ever go away, but I kept it from getting worse somehow. > > Anyway, after having yearly changes in my distance vision finally stop and has been static for about 4 years (weird!), now I need 1.5x reading power. It just seems to never end. I’m hoping my reading Rx stays the same for a while and I can just keep wearing these lenses since they’re 4x more expensive than my single-vision ones were. I went from 5 pair to play with and interchange and match with outfits to just this one. If you want to drastically cut the cost of your progressives go online to someplace like Zenni Optical or EyeBuyDirect. com and order your glasses from them. Just know your PD’s for distance and reading and the segment height you want(most progressives are 60/40) and you will save a bundle. I got my last pair of progessives from EyeBuy and for rimless frames with transition progressive lenses they were $121. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/16 "2014-12-20T02:35:22Z")
I play darts in a league. When I start having trouble seeing what side of the wire some land on, time for a new pair. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/17 "2014-12-20T03:38:23Z")
> [@agilpro](#): > > If you want to drastically cut the cost of your progressives go online to someplace like Zenni Optical or EyeBuyDirect. com and order your glasses from them. Just know your PD’s for distance and reading and the segment height you want(most progressives are 60/40) and you will save a bundle. I got my last pair of progessives from EyeBuy and for rimless frames with transition progressive lenses they were $121. I already use Zenni. Glasses went from single vision $25 to progressive $100, the 4x more I was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-notice-when-your-glasses-contact-prescription-needs-to-be-changed/707305/18 "2014-12-21T00:57:42Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > But every new pair of glasses or contacts is like that first moment of brilliant clarity all over again. This. Every time I get a new prescription, I feel like I’m 6 years old again, riding in the back of my parent’s car after getting my first glasses. “Daddy - Daddy - the trees have _leaves!_”