Is this normal when your eyesight starts to decline?

[SEW77]

I am late 40s and the last few weeks I've noticed my eyesight has started to decline - when reading I've to hold it further away from me. I don't wear glasses and have never had an eye test but I'm going to book one soon.

I've noticed when I leave my office in the evening, it's dark, I'm waiting for my bus but as all different buses start to come along I feel dazzled by all the lights coming at me and can't focus to see what number bus is. Is this normal with worsening eyesight?

It's astigmatism - it's common for get worse as you age and glasses can help.

Yep.

Yes very normal. If you are driving then lovely orange tinted glasses can help. Isn't aging fun!

You do need to get your eyes tested, not just for glasses but general eye health as well.

Book an eye test.

your eyesight will change as you get older.

1. Absolutely normal for age related changes.

1. You've got astigmatism. It's a normal added inconvenience that makes a difference to your prescription.

Unfortunately it is normal and one of the worst things (for me) about getting older.

What hasn't helped though is that in the last 20 odd years headlights have become much brighter, which dazzle oncoming drivers. There was a recent thread on here about it

Amazed you’ve never had an eye test!

But yes, for one thing you’re likely to become more long sighted as you get older, which is why so many people need reading glasses.

Agree with above posts — you've got the beginnings of presbyopia and also something else going on.

You should be getting your eyes tested every two years regardless. Opticians can pick up all kinds of things you might not realise are wrong with your eyes, including sight-threatening and even more dangerous things.

If you're an office worker and you're working with screens a lot, you should be able to get your employer to pay for sight tests, if cost is one of the things putting you off.

Definitely get an eye test.

I thought my eyesight was getting worse due to age but it turned out I had a rare condition (not wanting to scare you, but eye tests are worthwhile even if your vision is fine)

My night vision has become shocking in the last year (I’m 49) and I recently got glasses for driving in the dark which do help. @OhBeAFineGuyKissMe i didn’t know about orange tinted glasses though? The glare kills me, especially when it’s rainy and dark for some reason. I’ll look into that.
I’ve also just started struggling to read really tiny print, like washing instructions on clothes labels. Oh the joys of getting older eh??

I’ve got cheap reading glasses from Dealz in every room and bag….I really thought they were just printing instructions smaller. Have to use the torch on my phone for restaurant menus.

my friend only agreed to an eye test when I glanced at the font on her kindle and it was basically a letter a page.

my longsight is fine but headlights are dazzling. Dh only got eye test when I was navigating on motorway and we realised he couldn’t read the signs on the overhead gantries.

I can't believe you're in your forties and have never had an eye test 😳

I had perfect eyesight in my early forties. I smugly mentioned this to my optician at a sight test. She said from mid 40 it was downhill. She was right. I had reading glasses 18 months later.

Very normal I use a magnifying glass as well as my varifocals sometimes for any tiny writing on e.g. food packets and face creams etc!

You should really get your eyes tested every 2 years (every year for kids). My reading glasses have progressively been getting stronger (got them from about age 40) and I'm 50 now.

I didn't get my eyes tested until 40 either as there didn't seem any need because my vision was still perfect. Glasses all the way now though twenty years later

This.

Thanks, all! Time to book an eye test!

Good luck! Hope they can sort out your night vision issues.

Good luck, @SEW77.

Not to be a broken record after PPs already made the point but I can’t stress enough that eye tests are important for reasons beyond how good your sight is. They should be just as much about checking for any changes in eye health or warning signs. IMHO there’s not nearly enough marketing on that aspect.

It’s like going to the dentist (if you can) - they’re not just looking at any plaque and cavities; there’s all sorts they can pick up on (obviously there’s the costs/funding/NHS availability massive issue in a lot of areas, but that’s a whole other thread. At least eye tests are a lot cheaper and more readily available).

@Hallmark1234 I was convinced my eyesight was deteriorating as I felt like every car has its brights on! But at my eye test a few months ago (I wear contacts so get my eyes checked regularly) the optician said my eyes were fine, car headlights really ARE getting brighter and cars are getting taller and taller cars are more likely to have the LED or halogen fancy lights - so if you drive a normal car you've got SUV level extra bright lights right in your eyes.

Unfortunately she also said the yellow night vision specs are a waste of money, but I might try them anyway.

I didn't have an eye test until my late 40s either.

Still resisting glasses at the age of nearly 52 but do need to get a magnifying glass out from time to time eg to read the tiny print on cosmetics and invested in a strong reading light. After my last eyetest I bought a larger screen to use with my tiny laptop screen too.

The light makes a massive difference, it's all to do with natural light. My mum is in her mid 80s and can read a book without her reading glasses with her light which is why we bought one too and it's great. It was £400 which is not insignificant, but there are cheaper options.

Car headlights are awful, that isn't age or your eyesight.

Every year for kids? Really?

Being dazzled by glare is something that is a problem for some people and not necessarily due to eyesight issues. I have had trouble with glare since I was young and it was a long time after that my eyesight deteriorated.
For me, glare is a trigger for migraines. Now I am older glare is worse and caused by a combination of blepharitis/dry eyes, cataracts and macular degeneration.

I had them every six months at least, as a kid! But then I was losing about a dioptre a year for ten years, on average, so it was kind of necessary 🤣

It makes sense. Kids can mask long sight, causing headaches and reluctance to read. Or they can develop short sight without anyone realising, causing difficulty reading the board and with sports and other activities. Or develop one of many other eye issues.

Even a year of this kind of difficulty could be enough to really set them back at school, or cause them trouble with their brain vision developing properly.