Nearsighted vs. Farsighted: What’s the Difference?

Been struggling to see clearly recently? You’re not alone. Millions of Americans have vision problems, many of them suffering from either myopia or hyperopia — or nearsighted and farsighted vision. If you’re in the over-40 crowd, we can almost guarantee your close-up vision isn’t what it used to be.

Let’s explore the similarities and differences between nearsighted vs. farsighted vision and learn what causes each one. Then we’ll look at how to treat them so you can live your best life and make sure your dominant eye has clear vision.

What Causes Nearsightedness and Farsightedness?

While myopia and hyperopia might sound like diseases, nearsightedness and farsightedness aren’t caused by an illness. Some eye diseases can cause vision loss, but nearsightedness and farsightedness are simply refractive errors that prevent your eyes from focusing correctly.

When you have normal vision, light rays enter your eye through the cornea, pupil, and lens. These layers help direct light to your retina at the back of the eye. The retina connects to the optic nerve, which sends a signal to your brain. Your brain then produces the images you see.

Refractive errors occur when there’s a variation in these elements of your eye. For instance, myopia is caused by an irregularity in the shape of your eye — either a slightly elongated eyeball or a cornea that’s too curved. Instead of the light entering your eye and focusing directly on the retina, it lands in front of the retina and can’t be focused properly.

If your eyeball is slightly shorter than usual or your cornea is a bit too flat, you’ll most likely be farsighted. When light enters your eye, it focuses behind the retina instead of on it, again causing blurry vision and often difficulties with depth perception, too.

These small variations are often congenital and can be caused by genetics or environmental factors. Myopia and hyperopia are among the most common refractive errors.

How Common Are These Vision Problems?

Being nearsighted or farsighted is extremely common. In fact, over 40% of Americans are nearsighted — that’s nearly half of the country’s population. Being farsighted is somewhat more rare, with only 5-10% of Americans being farsighted.

It’s possible that even more people struggle with nearsighted or farsightedness than have been diagnosed, too. If you only have mild myopia or hyperopia, you may not even notice it.

Vision loss of any kind usually occurs gradually, which makes it difficult to pinpoint. Children especially may not notice that they’re nearsighted or farsighted because they don’t have a proper point of comparison. If they’ve never been able to read the board at school, why would they think there was something wrong?

For these reasons and more, regular eye exams are important. While most vision changes require nothing more than a prescription, it is possible for vision problems to lead to other, more serious conditions. Not to mention, the day-to-day impact of being near or farsighted can affect your safety, especially when it comes to activities such as driving.

So, how do you tell whether you have nearsighted vs. farsighted vision? Let’s find out.

What Is Nearsightedness or Myopia?

If you suffer from nearsightedness, you can see close-up objects clearly, but faraway objects may look blurry. With myopia, you can easily read a book or a text on your phone, but you may struggle to see well when driving or watching your child on a sports field.

The symptoms of myopia are straightforward. If you experience blurry vision looking into the distance but see close objects clearly, this is likely what you’re dealing with. Myopia causes greater difficulty in seeing in the dark, as well.

Although you usually inherit nearsighted vision from your parents, experiencing myopia progression comes down to lifestyle factors. If you do a lot of close-up work like reading or craftwork, you may find that your vision gets worse over time.

Similarly, spending a lot of time working on a computer, using your phone, or playing video games can have the same effect.

Are There Risks Associated With Myopia?

If you have moderate to severe nearsightedness and it’s not treated, you could be at risk of other eye conditions, like macular degeneration, glaucoma, or cataracts. In a worst-case scenario, you may experience bleeding in the retina or retinal detachment, where your retina pulls away from its normal position. These can lead to permanent loss of vision.

Nearsighted people should have a vision exam yearly to ensure their vision issues aren’t changing. If your vision changes, you’ll need a different prescription to achieve correction.

What Is Farsightedness or Hyperopia?

Farsightedness or hyperopia is the opposite of myopia. If you have farsighted vision, distant objects appear clear, but nearby objects may look blurry. Admiring beautiful scenery or watching a movie will be easy, but you’ll probably find it more difficult to read the list of ingredients on an item in the grocery store.

People with farsightedness are usually born with it. However, head injuries, sinus problems, and migraines can worsen it.

Are There Risks Associated With Hyperopia?

If a child with farsightedness doesn’t receive the correct diagnosis and vision correction, there’s a chance they may develop other eye problems as they grow.

For example, if their eyes develop with different refractive powers, they may end up with amblyopia or lazy eye, where one eye works much harder than the other.

And if their eyes have to work too hard to see clearly, it can cause a squint — or crossed eyes. This is why it’s best to get them checked out early on so any issues can be corrected.

Can You Be Both Nearsighted and Farsighted?

It’s very rare, but a small percentage of people are farsighted in one eye and nearsighted in the other. This condition is called antimetropia. It isn’t possible to be both nearsighted and farsighted in the same eye.

What Are Your Treatment Options?

While hyperopia and myopia can be frustrating to deal with, the good thing about them being so common is that treatment is effective and easy to access. You simply need to correct the refraction issue that’s causing blurred vision.

There are three primary tactics to improve hyperopia and myopia:

1. Eyeglasses

The easiest form of vision correction is eyeglasses. You’ll need to start by visiting your optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam. They’ll check your visual acuity and give you a prescription for the exact corrective lenses you need to help your eyes focus well.

If you’re nearsighted, your prescription will have a negative sign in front of it (for example, -0.25 or -4.0), and if you’re farsighted, it will have a positive sign (for example, +2.0 or +3.5).

This prescription is likely to change over time, so it’s a good idea to schedule a visit to your eye care specialist every year or two. They’ll also check your general eye health, so if you do develop any other eye conditions, you’ll be able to catch them early.

Once you have your prescription, you can take that to an eyewear retailer to get your new pair of eyeglasses.

2. Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a great alternative to eyeglasses if you find wearing them uncomfortable, live an active lifestyle that makes them impractical, or simply prefer how you look without them.

The process for getting contacts is much the same as getting glasses. You’ll visit your eye doctor to have your eyes evaluated for vision loss, curvature, and pupillary distance, which you’ll need to determine your prescription.

An eye care professional will likely recommend a specific brand or type of lens and provide samples before you place a full order.

3. Laser Eye Surgery

While nearsightedness and farsightedness can be addressed with glasses or contact lenses, refractive surgery, such as LASIK or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), is also possible.

Your ophthalmologist will use a laser to alter the shape of your cornea, which helps it better focus light on the retina.

If you’re a candidate, vision corrective surgery may make it possible to avoid using prescription eyewear. It does, however, come with more risks than glasses or contacts. It’s important to speak to your doctor before making a decision to ensure you understand the process.

Where Do Astigmatism and Presbyopia Fit In?

While you can’t be both nearsighted and farsighted in the same eye, you can have hyperopia or myopia and another vision condition. Two additional vision problems worth mentioning are astigmatism and presbyopia.

While some of the symptoms can be the same, the causes of astigmatism and presbyopia are quite different from nearsighted vs. farsighted vision.

What Is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is also a refractive error, but it’s caused by unevenness in the curvature of the lens or cornea. Rather than focusing on one point on the retina, light scatters when it hits your eye, creating multiple focal points. This is most notable while driving at night. Streetlights and oncoming car lights often look like they have halos or starbursts around them.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia may seem a lot like farsightedness because it makes it difficult to see up close. It’s caused by the lens of the eye becoming less flexible as you age, resulting in blurry near vision.

If you only have presbyopia, a pair of reading glasses will solve the problem. But if you have nearsighted or farsighted vision and presbyopia, you’ll need multifocals — or their latest evolution, progressive lenses. These have different prescriptions in different parts of the lenses, depending on where you’re looking.

You may also want to consider progressive lenses if you have presbyopia but don’t like taking your eyewear on and off. Multifocal lenses, like progressives, offer vision correction for near vision, distance vision, and intermediate vision. They can take time to adjust, but nothing gives you better accessibility than progressive lenses.

Where To Get Your Nearsighted or Farsighted Glasses

If eyeglasses sound like the best option for you, the most important thing is getting your eyes checked by a doctor so that you have an accurate, up-to-date prescription. Once you’ve done that, the rest is up to you!

Choosing your first pair of glasses can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Our Virtual Try-On feature allows you to pick your ideal Base Frame. With our wide range of stylish, high-quality Top Frames, you can create custom specs that elevate your look and show off your personality.

Our frames are made from tough cellulose acetate, with select designs featuring stylish metal temples. Our lenses are made from scratch- and impact-resistant polycarbonate. So they can go everywhere and do everything that you do with no stress.

The Bottom Line

If you’re squinting more than usual or have started to accept tension headaches as part of your day, it’s time to talk to your eye doctor. Vision problems such as myopia and hyperopia are extremely common,and luckily, they’re also easy to address.

Say goodbye to eye strain and hello to a clearer outlook. Check out our selection and find your perfect Pair today.

Sources:

Myopia: A Close Look At Efforts To Turn Back a Growing Problem | National Eye Institute

Farsightedness | National Eye Institute

Presbyopia | National Eye Institute

What Is Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)? | American Academy of Opthalmology