Finding yourself holding your phone a little further away? Increasing the font size? Needing brighter light to read a menu? It could be presbyopia.
Presbyopia is the gradual, age-related reduction in our ability to focus clearly on objects up close. It is a normal change that eventually affects everyone, regardless of whether you have previously needed glasses.
For most people, it becomes noticeable sometime during their 40s.
What Is Presbyopia?
When we're younger, the natural lens inside the eye is flexible and can change its focusing power to allow us to see clearly at different distances.
Over time, this focusing system becomes less flexible and the amount of accommodation available gradually decreases.
Eventually, tasks such as reading small print or viewing a phone at your usual distance become more difficult.
That is presbyopia.
What Are the First Signs of Presbyopia?
Early symptoms often include:
- Holding your phone or reading material further away
- Needing larger text
- Difficulty reading small print
- Needing brighter lighting
- Eyestrain during prolonged close work
- Headaches after reading
- Difficulty changing focus between your computer and other distances
- Near vision becoming worse when you are tired or in dim lighting
Many people joke that their “arms have become too short”. In reality, it is the eye's focusing system that has changed.
What Age Does Presbyopia Start?
Presbyopia is a gradual process rather than something that happens overnight.
Most people first become aware of it sometime in their early to mid-40s, although exactly when symptoms appear varies depending on your existing prescription and visual demands.
The amount of near correction required usually increases gradually over the following years before becoming more stable later in life.
Is Presbyopia the Same as Long-Sightedness?
No.
They can produce similar symptoms, but they are different conditions.
Hyperopia or long-sightedness is a refractive error related to the optical power and shape of the eye.
Presbyopia is an age-related reduction in the ability to change focus.
This means you can be short-sighted, long-sighted, have astigmatism or have previously had perfect distance vision — and still develop presbyopia.
Everyone does eventually.
How Is Presbyopia Corrected?
There are more options than simply buying a pair of reading glasses.
Depending on your prescription, work, lifestyle and how you prefer to use your vision, options can include:
- Reading glasses
- Progressive or multifocal glasses
- Occupational or extended-focus glasses
- Multifocal contact lenses
- Monovision contact lenses
- A combination of glasses and contact lenses
The best option depends very much on how you use your eyes.
Someone spending eight hours between two computer monitors may need a different solution from someone wanting good near vision while playing sport, socialising or travelling.
Can I Wear Contact Lenses for Presbyopia?
Absolutely.
Modern multifocal contact lenses can provide useful vision across distance, intermediate and near ranges and are available in a growing number of prescriptions and designs.
Contact lenses can be particularly useful if you don't want to rely on reading glasses throughout the day or would like greater freedom for sport, events and everyday life.
At Illume, we have access to a broad range of daily, reusable and specialised multifocal contact lenses, including options for people who also have astigmatism.
Learn more about Multifocal Contact Lenses →
Why Does My Computer Feel Different From Reading?
“Near vision” isn't just one distance.
A phone may be used at around 30–40cm, while a desktop computer is often significantly further away.
This intermediate computer distance can become increasingly important as presbyopia develops.
If you spend much of your day working across laptops, screens and meetings, tell your optometrist exactly how and where you work. Your prescription can then be tailored to your real-world visual demands rather than simply to a reading chart.
Do Cheap Reading Glasses Work?
Ready-made reading glasses can be useful for some people, particularly if both eyes have very similar prescriptions and there are no other visual or eye-health concerns.
However, they don't allow for differences between the eyes prescriptions, astigmatism, eye-coordination issues or an eye-health condition.
If you are noticing a new change in near vision, an eye examination is a good place to start.
Presbyopia and Eye Health
Presbyopia itself is a normal age-related change, not an eye disease.
However, the 40s are also a useful time to become more proactive about eye health. A comprehensive eye examination looks beyond reading vision and can assess the health of the retina, optic nerve and other structures of the eye.
At Illume Eye Care in Ponsonby, Auckland, our comprehensive eye examinations combine vision assessment with detailed eye-health evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Presbyopia
Does everyone get presbyopia?
Yes. Presbyopia is a normal age-related change in focusing ability and eventually affects everyone.
Can presbyopia happen suddenly?
It often feels sudden because there is a point at which your remaining focusing ability is no longer enough for a particular task. However, the underlying change develops gradually.
Does wearing reading glasses make your eyes weaker?
No. Reading glasses do not make presbyopia progress faster or make your eyes dependent on them.
Can contact lenses correct presbyopia?
Yes. Multifocal and monovision contact lenses are both commonly used for presbyopia.
Can I have presbyopia if I am short-sighted?
Yes. Short-sighted people develop presbyopia too, although some may find they can remove their distance glasses to read comfortably.
Clinically reviewed by an Illume Eye Care Optometrist | Last reviewed: August 2026
