Hyperopia – long-sightedness at any age

If you are long-sighted (have hyperopia) you can usually see distant objects clearly, but cannot focus on close objects. This is sometimes also called far-sightedness.

Presbyopia – blurred vision associated with age

On the other hand, presbyopia, or blurred near vision, is a natural change in sight that happens as we get older. The symptoms are very similar to long-sigthedness (hyperopia). However, presbyopia sets in as we get older and is caused by a hardening of the crystalline lens, and it makes it difficult for people to see things up close.

Hyperopbia, on the other hand, means that the light rays are focused behind the retina so that people have difficulty seeing things further away. This can happen at any age.

Eyeball and cornea

Far-sightedness is caused by your eyeball being too short or your cornea curving too little to allow the light entering your eye to focus correctly.

Signs of far-sightedness

Common signs of far-sightedness include:

• Difficulty in concentrating and clearly focusing on near objects
• Eye strain
• Fatigue and/or headaches after close work
• Aching or burning eyes
• Irritability or nervousness after sustained concentration.

A comprehensive eye examination will include testing for far-sightedness.

Correcting far-sightedness

In mild cases of far-sightedness, your eyes may be able to compensate without corrective lenses. In other cases, your optometrist can prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to optically correct far-sightedness by altering the way the light enters your eyes.