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As an eye doc with old eyes who has been down this road with different folks, I'd like to jump in. Smooth8500 is right when he says that often times it depends on what you're shooting. There a few other things to consider.
1. Older eyes have the beginnings of cataracts. Your doc may not have said anything yet, but if you have one gray hair, you can count on the lenses in your eyes to have some haze. Simple as that!
2. Does you vision change with the blink? As we get older, our tear film gets more viscous . That increased viscosity has a refractive property. It makes it more difficult for patients to answer the question of which is better.
3. As we get older, our pupils get smaller.
4. When you look anywhere through a lens other then the optic center, you're looking through distortion of some kind. There is astigmatism correction in the periphery of your lenses, but it's not the same correction. Then there's distortion of the image shape.
5. Next comes the curvature of the lenses, called the base curve. Then add in the vertex distance - the distance from your eye to the lens. Is it the same as when you took your eye test and put your face in the phoropter? How about the angle of your face. Did you pick your chin up when you took your eye test, or was it perpendicular to the eye chart.
I'm just getting started, but all of these things affect the final prescription.
You can solve a lot of these problems with contact lenses. With contacts, you're always looking through the center of the lens. You eliminate a lot of distortion. You will be more successful with monovision, which is different eyes for different focal lengths. There is even a contact lens with an expanded depth of field that allows you to see the front sight and target without all of the exotic options, but unfortunately it's not available for astigmatism. I listen to the push back when I suggest contacts, but in my humble opinion it's a much better option.
But let pass on some advice that was given to me at the range not too long ago. We were practicing with pistols. I reached for a pair of gloves to try and adjust my grip. My good friend asked me if a real situation were to occur, would I ask the bad guy to wait while I put on my gloves? Same thing applies here. If you're shooting for sport, you may simply need to keep trying different glasses options until you find one that works for you. But I respectfully submit that you're working with less than optimal optics - yours. And age isn't on your side. If you're practicing for practical situations, practice with the way you usually see.
If anyone wants to come see me, call Dr. Gording at 310-470-4289.
1. Older eyes have the beginnings of cataracts. Your doc may not have said anything yet, but if you have one gray hair, you can count on the lenses in your eyes to have some haze. Simple as that!
2. Does you vision change with the blink? As we get older, our tear film gets more viscous . That increased viscosity has a refractive property. It makes it more difficult for patients to answer the question of which is better.
3. As we get older, our pupils get smaller.
4. When you look anywhere through a lens other then the optic center, you're looking through distortion of some kind. There is astigmatism correction in the periphery of your lenses, but it's not the same correction. Then there's distortion of the image shape.
5. Next comes the curvature of the lenses, called the base curve. Then add in the vertex distance - the distance from your eye to the lens. Is it the same as when you took your eye test and put your face in the phoropter? How about the angle of your face. Did you pick your chin up when you took your eye test, or was it perpendicular to the eye chart.
I'm just getting started, but all of these things affect the final prescription.
You can solve a lot of these problems with contact lenses. With contacts, you're always looking through the center of the lens. You eliminate a lot of distortion. You will be more successful with monovision, which is different eyes for different focal lengths. There is even a contact lens with an expanded depth of field that allows you to see the front sight and target without all of the exotic options, but unfortunately it's not available for astigmatism. I listen to the push back when I suggest contacts, but in my humble opinion it's a much better option.
But let pass on some advice that was given to me at the range not too long ago. We were practicing with pistols. I reached for a pair of gloves to try and adjust my grip. My good friend asked me if a real situation were to occur, would I ask the bad guy to wait while I put on my gloves? Same thing applies here. If you're shooting for sport, you may simply need to keep trying different glasses options until you find one that works for you. But I respectfully submit that you're working with less than optimal optics - yours. And age isn't on your side. If you're practicing for practical situations, practice with the way you usually see.
If anyone wants to come see me, call Dr. Gording at 310-470-4289.
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