Presbyopia

Presbyopia occurs due to natural ageing processes of the lens. With advancing age, the lens loses the ability to adjust to different distances due to the dwindling of its elasticity. We speak of the ability of accommodation.

The ability of accommodation subsides with age. This diminished power of accommodation, which occurs between the ages of 40 and 50 is a normal procedure and affects everyone without exception. Consequential, eyeglasses of different power according to the vision distance are needed from a certain age on. If distance vision was normal before, meaning that no corrective glasses were needed so far, only reading glasses will be required. Shortsighted people can in this case simply take their eyeglasses off to see sharply at close distance. Farsighted people, on the other hand, usually need both reading and distance glasses. Since almost everyone from the age of 45 onwards experiences minor visual defects, many people from then on wear varifocals.