Also known as myopia and hyperopia. These are visual defects. People with short-sightedness have sharp vision at close range but blurred vision at a distance. The exact opposite is the case for farsighted people.
Almost half of all people in Europe between the ages of 25 and 30 are short-sighted. Short-sightedness is also common in children between the ages of 10 and 12. Only around 6% of this age group are affected by long-sightedness. The older you get, the more the ratio changes. Only around 15 % of people aged around 65 are still short-sighted. With increasing age, presbyopia also occurs and the number of people with long-sightedness increases accordingly to around 30%. Presbyopia is not counted as defective vision, it is a natural sign of ageing, such as gray hair.
The lens of the eye becomes tired over the years and becomes less flexible, which can make looking up close blurred and tiring.
Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable between the ages of 40 and 45 and can be helped quickly with reading glasses.
The two causes of myopia or hyperopia are, on the one hand, that the eyeball has grown too long or too short and, on the other hand, that the refractive power of the eye lens is too strong or too weak.
First signs of short-sightedness or long-sightedness
Myopia makes it difficult to see or recognize things in the distance clearly. Whether it's a road sign or a distant mountain range, both no longer appear so clear. However, everything at close range is sharp.
The opposite is true for people with farsightedness. They have clear and sharp vision in the distance, but their near vision is blurred. They have great difficulty reading or working on screens. The distances at which you see better or worse can give you an initial indication of whether you are long-sighted or short-sighted.
We can offer you an eye test so that you can be sure whether you have defective vision or not.
Whether you have short-sightedness or long-sightedness, our team can carry out a professional eye test with you and tell you whether or not you need glasses. This will give you certainty about the state of your eyesight.