Vision Changes with Age: What’s Normal, and What’s Cause for Concern?

As you age, you see changes in your body: loose skin, wrinkles, and crow’s feet around your eyes. Your eyes also undergo an aging process. Even though you can’t see the changes in your eyes, you experience changes in your vision. 

Our board-certified ophthalmologists and optometrist with Wolchok Eye Associates, PA, provide comprehensive eye exams that help you maintain your eye health as you age. Your eye doctor explains normal age-related changes and provides remedies for them. Your expert provider also treats eye diseases to help you maintain your vision. 

Check out these helpful tips to learn the difference between normal age-related changes and when there's cause for concern. 

Normal age-related changes in vision 

The following are normal age-related changes in vision. Your eye doctor recommends solutions when they’re needed. 

A need for reading glasses

Around age 40, the lenses in your eyes begin to harden, losing the flexibility to change shape and focus on nearby objects. The condition is presbyopia; it’s a normal age-related change in vision. 

Reading books and other printed material may become more difficult. In a dimly lit restaurant, you likely turn on your phone’s flashlight to see the menu. Even if you’ve never needed glasses, almost everyone transitions to reading glasses eventually. You can purchase inexpensive reading glasses, or we can prescribe multifocal glasses. 

Dry eyes 

Your eyes constantly produce tears to keep them lubricated. As you age, your tear production may diminish, leading to dry eyes. You may feel a burning sensation in your eyes or feel as if there’s debris in them. If drugstore artificial tears don’t work, prescription eye drops help. 

Floaters 

Have you seen a dark spot or squiggly line suddenly appear in your vision and then disappear? You have a floater. Gel on your retina begins to shrink as you age and can form clumps, which are floaters. 

A floater once in a while is normal as you grow older. However, if you have many floaters or see flashes of light, call our office immediately. 

When to be concerned about a change in your vision 

Eye diseases become more prevalent as you age: cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration are eye diseases that can cause vision loss. Early treatment helps save your sight. Contact our office so we can get you an appointment to ensure your vision health.  You should not ignore the following symptoms: 

Rapid Vision Changes 

As noted, a floater or two now and then isn’t a cause for concern. However, if you notice a rapid increase in floaters or flashes of light in your vision, call our office. You may be at risk of retinal detachment. 

Central vision loss

You see a dark spot in the center of your vision. You can’t see objects straight in front of you. A symptom of age-related macular degeneration is loss of central vision. Call our office if this happens. 

Loss of side vision 

If you can’t see objects to either side of your eyes (peripheral vision loss), you may have glaucoma. You need prompt treatment to save your vision. 

Blurry vision/halos

Call our office to schedule an appointment if your vision is blurred, you experience double vision, or see halos around objects. These are signs of cataracts, or they could indicate retinopathy. 

For expert eye care, call Wolchok Eye Associates, PA, or request an appointment through our online portal today.