Dr. Soper and I see this pretty much every day. A patient comes in concerned that their near vision has gotten worse.
Are they broken? Are they going blind? Many of these patients come in fearful that something is wrong with them and they could be losing their most precious sense.
The likeliest answer is usually that they are now entering into something called presbyopia. Presbyopia isn’t really like nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) or astigmatism. Instead, presbyopia occurs because the lens inside our eye is no longer flexible.
I like to explain it like this: Imagine a 5 year old tree. They’re small, thin, and flexible. You could push that tree over pretty easily or rip it out of the ground with some effort!
Now let’s take a look at that tree 20 years later. The tree is now much thicker around its trunk and standing taller. It’s going to be impossible for you to push it over and I can guarantee you won't be able to take it out of the ground with just a shovel! The tree is much less flexible than it used to be though.
This is pretty much exactly what goes on in the eye. Each year, the lens gains another layer around the center, making it just a bit thicker. Over time, it becomes less flexible. It’s not an issue of the muscles becoming weaker by any means!
Now, some folks need reading glasses earlier than others. In some cases this can be due to a specific disorder where the eye muscles don’t work together very well and the patient has difficulty focusing their lens.