Do I Need Glasses? 8 Signs Adults Commonly Ignore

A significant proportion of adults with uncorrected vision problems don't know they have them. The visual system is remarkably good at compensating,squinting increases depth of focus, the brain fills in fuzzy edges from context, and headaches are attributed to stress rather than eye strain. By the time most adults recognise something is wrong, the prescription is often more significant than it needed to be.

8 Signs You May Need an Eye Test

• 1. You squint frequently. Squinting is a natural mechanism to increase depth of focus,it narrows the aperture of light entering the eye. If you find yourself squinting at road signs, screens, or anything at a distance, your distance vision may be reduced.
• 2. Headaches after visual tasks. Headaches that develop during or after prolonged reading, screen work, or driving often indicate the visual system is straining to maintain focus. They typically occur behind the eyes or across the forehead.
• 3. You hold reading material further away (or closer) than normal. Holding books or your phone at arm's length suggests long-sightedness or the onset of presbyopia (age-related near vision loss). Holding things close suggests short-sightedness.
• 4. Difficulty reading small print. Classic early sign of presbyopia,typically beginning in the mid-40s. The lens of the eye loses flexibility and can no longer accommodate to close-up focus.
• 5. Difficulty driving at night. Night driving difficulty,glare from oncoming headlights, halos, or difficulty reading road signs in the dark,can indicate uncorrected astigmatism, the onset of cataracts, or reduced contrast sensitivity.
• 6. You sit closer to screens or the TV. A compensation for reduced distance vision. The closer you sit, the larger the image appears relative to your reduced visual acuity.
• 7. Eye strain after screen use. Tired, heavy, sore eyes after a day at a computer often indicate an uncorrected focusing error,particularly a small amount of long-sightedness that forces the eyes to work harder to maintain clear near focus.
• 8. You haven't had an eye test in over two years. Even with no symptoms, regular eye tests detect conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration before any symptoms develop. The absence of symptoms is not the absence of pathology.