Presbyopia vs. myopia: What’s the difference?
Presbyopia and myopia are different vision issues with different causes—presbyopia is farsightedness that happens to nearly everyone as they age, while myopia is when the eye grows too long during development, causing nearsightedness.
An age-related change that happens to almost everyone
Presbyopia is a normal part of aging that typically starts becoming noticeable around age 40. Why does this happen? Well, inside your eye you have a clear, flexible lens that, with the help of tiny muscles in your eye, changes shape to help you focus on things near and far. As you get older, that lens becomes less flexible, making it hard for your eye to focus on nearby objects. This can become especially difficult in dim light conditions. A telltale sign is a person holding their phone at arms length to be able to read it.
More than just blurry distance vision
As the science of myopia becomes clearer, we’re learning that nearsightedness, or blurry distance vision, is just a symptom of myopia. Myopia itself is a chronic, progressive diseases that leads to the eye growing too long. This excessive eye growth doesn’t just make it harder to see things that are far away, it also may increase the chance of eye health issues later in life, like retinal detachment, certain types of macular degeneration—even blindness.
A quick look at the differences
Presbyopia:
- Objects appear blurry when they’re up close
- Symptoms don’t typically kick until at around age 40
- It’s caused by the lens in the eye becoming less flexible
- Symptoms can be more obvious in dim lighting
Myopia:
- It’s difficult to clearly see things that aren’t close up
- You’re more likely to get it if your parents had it
- The eye grows too long, making it difficult to focus on things that are not nearby
- Typically progresses until a person enters adulthood
- Increases the chances of eye health issues later in life
A variety of approaches to discuss with your ophthalmologist
There are a few ways that your ophthalmologist may recommend treating your presbyopia, depending on your eye health history and your lifestyle. They may include eyeglasses, contact lenses, surgery, eye drops, or a combination.
To correct or to manage?
The way your ophthalmologist may approach treating your myopia depends on a few things—like how old you are and whether or not your eyes have finished growing. If your eyes are done growing, they may simply prescribe correction, but if your eyes are still growing, they may come up with a myopia management plan to potentially help slow the growth of your eye.
Footnotes
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