Monovision

San Francisco, Bay Area and San Jose, California

When you hear the word “monovision,” an image from Hogan’s Heroes may pop into your mind – one of Colonel Klink with his ever-present reading monocle. Fortunately, for those with failing eyesight, better options exist.

As we hit the age of 40 to 45, our vision changes; the need for reading glasses increases, and the spectacles that we find so annoying to wear, become a major topic of conversation. Presbyopia, a condition in which the eye’s lens loses its focusing ability for up-close reading, is the reason for those added spectacles. However, presbyopia can be addressed with monovision. When you contact the eye surgeons at Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, you can learn more about the different types of monovision approaches to presbyopia correction.

Using Monovision to Correct Presbyopia

When you first consider monovision, you may be inclined to think that you will use one eye to see far and another to see up close. While that is true, it does not mean that you’ll be closing one eye to read and closing the other to see far away. Our brains have a wonderful ability to overlay one eye’s image on top of the other, so if your eye doctor corrects one eye for distance and leaves the other for distant sight, your brain will make the adjustment automatically. Correction with monovision can be done in three ways:

• Monovision contact lenses
• Intraocular lenses
• Monovision LASIK

When Monovision is Your Best Option

Approximately 90 percent of all middle-aged persons who need vision correction can do so with the monovision approach. Once your ophthalmologist has determined which eye is your dominant eye (it’s usually the one you use to focus through a camera lens), your doctor can correct your dominant eye for distance and deliberately make your non-dominant eye set for closer distances. This type of correction is perfect for a person who leads an active lifestyle or has a job that makes adding and removing glasses impossible, like that of a surgical nurse.

Test Driving Monovision

Choosing monovision will require a bit of adjustment as your brain learns which eye is best suited for the task at hand. If your ophthalmologist recommends permanent monovision correction, it’s often advisable to try monovision contact lenses first, to see if the refractive surgery is worth the additional expense.

If you or someone you know has been complaining about their vision changes, please schedule an appointment with the eye doctors at Laser Vision Center in Silicon Valley, located in multiple offices in San Francisco, Bay Area and San Jose, California. Our eye doctors will examine you to determine if you are a good candidate for monovision.

1.800.725.0740