Will Glasses Help Presbyopia?

Eyeglasses are a simple, safe way to correct vision problems caused by presbyopia. You may be able to use over-the-counter (nonprescription) reading glasses if you had good, uncorrected vision before developing presbyopia.

What do glasses do to improve presbyopia?

The lenses of eyeglasses make up for (“correct”) this: They refract (bend) and focus light before it reaches the lens of the eye. This makes up for the poor refractive power of the natural lens. So wearing reading glasses helps you see nearby objects clearly again.

Do glasses make presbyopia worse?

The bottom line: reading glasses don't damage your eyes — they just improve how well you see. And because presbyopia progresses with age, your near vision without corrective lenses will gradually worsen whether or not you wear reading glasses.