# How much of Optometry is a racket? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291 "2011-12-06T20:08:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/61 "2011-12-08T00:38:12Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > None of you mentioned the prostate exam. Crap. they don’t do that for the money. they do it for the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/62 "2011-12-08T01:31:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > None of you mentioned the prostate exam. Crap. Thank you for that punctuation. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/63 "2011-12-08T17:57:00Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Actually, an Optician is someone who is trained to fill eyeglass prescriptions. They will (or should) measure you to make sure the frames you have picked out are suitable for the lenses you need and for your head/face/pupil size, etc, will do physical adjustments on eyeglasses and other activities. > > An Optometrist determines what you need to correct your vision, will do pretty thorough health check and writes prescriptions for lenses (eyeglass, contact, etc) and some drugs. Optometrists also often fill the optician role at small practices. > > An Ophthalmologist is an MD and can do all of the above plus surgery and prescribe the really good drugs. You are correct, of course. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/64 "2011-12-08T18:56:22Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I already said I was going to go. I’m just curious what the trend of decline is. I know that there is a typical rate of change with age, because my optometrist has mentioned that I’m right on schedule a couple of times.\* But I haven’t found any graph or table online. I was about 45 when I got prescription reading glasses. I was about 52/53 when I got bifocals. I’m supposed to be in a plateau phase, which is supposed to last for 5 - 10 years. That said, the typical decline is only that and your mileage WILL vary. - Well, I was on schedule until my eyesight improved last year for no known reason. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/65 "2011-12-08T20:19:50Z")
What timing. I just went to the eye doctor yesterday for the first time in six years or so. Turns out the eye doctor at the new place down the street is a pretty hot Asian woman. I may be going more regularly. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/66 "2011-12-08T21:19:04Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > My question is… how doomed am I? How long until I’ll NEED reading glasses? Is my normal (non-reading) vision likely to go downhill as well, requiring me to wear glasses all the time? Obviously you can’t say for sure but I’m curious what other peoples’ experiences has been, because there is probably a trend… That all varies wildly. Your distance vision shouldn’t change much, barring cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration or retinopathy, but your risk of developing those things is a function of a lot of factors like age, race/ethnicity, risk for diabetes or ischemic disease, etc. As for the presbyopia, some people never progress to the point of depending on reading glasses, others zoom right from 1.5s at reading distance to 3.0s at arm’s length and then stabilize, most people fall somewhere on a continuum in between. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/67 "2011-12-08T21:42:24Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > That all varies wildly. Your distance vision shouldn’t change much, barring cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration or retinopathy, but your risk of developing those things is a function of a lot of factors like age, race/ethnicity, risk for diabetes or ischemic disease, etc. As for the presbyopia, some people never progress to the point of depending on reading glasses, others zoom right from 1.5s at reading distance to 3.0s at arm’s length and then stabilize, most people fall somewhere on a continuum in between. Thanks. I figured it was probably quite varied, I just want to know what the possibilities are. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/68 "2011-12-09T02:51:37Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > You are correct, of course. My mistake. Hope I didn’t come across as a pedantic ass. I am a pedantic ass, of course, but I don’t want to be _perceived_ as one. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/69 "2011-12-11T22:15:12Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Confused… how is that different than what I wrote? 😕 It isn’t; I read your post incorrectly when I replied to it. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/70 "2011-12-12T03:09:47Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It isn’t; I read your post incorrectly when I replied to it. My bad. Heh. I reread it and concluded you were expanding on my answer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291/71 "2011-12-12T06:43:31Z")
I was born with 20/400 vision and began wearing glasses when I was fourteen months old. I can remember having a patch over my good eye to try to strengthen my bad I. I still don’t have 90% of the vision in the bad eye, but the vision that I do have in that eye makes a lot of difference. With glasses my vision is corrected to 20/200. My depth perception is lousy, but since I’ve never had it, I don’t miss it and the world as I see it is normal to me. But $60 once every year or two to insure that your eyesight continues to serve you at its best? I don’t think that is what I would call “paying through the nose.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-optometry-is-a-racket/605291.md?page=3)