presbyopia and old fa... guys.

[billdianne]

I have been having a love hate relationship with progressive lenses for a number of year's now. Mainly with the peripheral limitations and correction in the middle of the lens. I have been reading about a new lens by this company
http://www.izonlens.com
that uses wavefront guided technology, similar to what they use in lasik surgery
only instead of shaping the eye they shape the lens.
Just wondering if anybody has had any experience with this good or bad.
Any OD's out there care to comment?

thanks,
Bill

[johnp]

i don't know anything about these new lenses, but i also experienced some frustration with progressives. i first got prescribed bifocals about 17 years ago. i did have a little problem with the loss of clarity in the peripheral vision, but eventually learned to turn my head to focus. the original lenses i got worked pretty well top to bottom in finding intermediate focal points for intermediate distances. in my work i look at monitors all day long.

coupla years later, my vision had changed a little, so i got a new perscription. i had moved to a new city since the initial diagnosis, so i had to use a new eye-doctor and glasses supplier. i got a different brand of progressives, and although the far vision was improved (and the near vision as well), i couldn't seem to find intermediate focal ranges. i relegated the glasses to "driving glasses", and continued to use my old ones for looking at monitors (and the instrument panel, as well.) when i decided to replace them again, i decided that i would go with the original brand of lenses, so i called around shops to find one that could get me that brand (actually the first one i called said they could get them, so i went there.) while there, the eye-doctor (i'm not going to try to spell opt..............) explained the difference in some of the progressives to me, even showing me a "comparison sheet" of about 2 dozen manufacturers. seems my original lense brand had a spread between the far and near focal points of 21mm, whereas the brand i had most recently purchased had a spread of only 10mm. so i ordered the new glasses, and when they arrived, i could see again -- all ranges.

didn't do anything about the peripherals, but as i said before, i've pretty much gotten used to that. btw, the lenses i have found to work for me are American Optical Omnivision Plus lenses. as in anything else, ymmv. obviously, if you are going to have a 21mm spread from top to bottom, you can't use any of the now-fashionable narrow frames.

[Mel]

Progressive lenses are NOT equal (as stated before). When I started wearing progressives quite some time ago, I started with Varilux. These were expensive, but Paul Harvey vouched for them. They didn't work well for me at all. After trying several brands, I found that the cheaper brand carried by EyeMasters work best for me. Not sure what brand they are. Everyone is different, so ymmv.

[videobobk]

A bit off-topic, but I handled Myopia a bit differently. My flight surgeon insists that I be able to see at 16"--much closer than I often read, and as I found out, giving me a bit of blur at car-dash distances. I had new glasses made this way but wasn't happy with them, so I got lenses that gave me clear images at around 20" and all the way out to where my regular lenses took over. Great, except for very close work. Just to see what would happen, I switched one of the old lenses for one of the new (they were for the same frames) and it is the best of both worlds. I have had bifocals for about twenty years and this is the best situation yet. No percieved blur at any distance from 15" or so on out to the horizon. I don't know if my eye-doctor would be happy , but I certainly am. I'll soon find out if the Flight Surgeon is. . .

Bob Kelly

[gmpaul]

I just walked in and turned my computer on after an afternoon of drilling holes in the firewall (brail method). I have to count the number of steps in the step drill as it goes through the metal, crawl out from under the dash, down the ladder, under the engine, check if hole is correct size, and go through this procedure again if not big enough oooof. You can tell I wear progressive lens also. I'm considering lasix but if there is something better I would love to know about it. Have a Happy New Year!
RV-9 G.P.

[az_gila]

I solved the problem by using tri-focals...

One each for distance/dash/map reading....

I found the the intermediate lens is not a fancy calculation... they just split the difference between the reading lens strength and the distance lens.

I only bought one pair of variable focus glasses, and always fell over my own feet when I wore them...

I quickly relegated them to "meeting glasses" and only used them sitting...

...as always YMMV.... gil A

[Mike S]

Well, I am lucky that so far I only need to wear glasses for reading, but I have already discussed the future with my optometrist.

My eye doc is a pilot, and understands what is needed for a pilot.

He plans on making me (when the time comes that they are needed) a pair of glasses just for flying----------bifocal, reading section set for the distance to the panel, and the separation line height to fall at the panel/windshield line while my head is at normal position.

The typical distance for reading glasses is what you hold a book at, 16-18".
From what I have seen, the typical distance to the instrument panel in most planes is 24" or more, out of focus range for the typical glasses.

Talk to your eye doc, and ex-plane what you need, it is easy to build glasses to fit custom needs.

Mike

[azrv6]

I had to make the switch to bifocals in the last year of my RV-6 build. I went with the progressive lenses and it took some getting used to them, but I was able to adjust. My biggest problem when working on a project is the need to tilt my head up to get things focused, like when working under the panel.

My biggest problem with the progressives is in the flair on taildraggers. I have always tilted my head back to see over the cowl as the flair is entered. With the progressives, this means I'm trying to look far down the runway through the reading part of the lenses and lose all depth perception just as I'm flaring and trying to have a soft meeting with the ground! Wheel landings are ok. I've pretty much settled on wearing a pair of sunglasses which are distance only (non-bifocal) and to read the moving map on the gps, or a chart, etc I just lift up the glasses a little and look out below the glasses. Of course this doesn't help at dusk or later.

I've talked with a couple of full time pilot friends who have experienced the same condition and they use traditional non-progressive bifocals with a slightly smaller (less high) than normal section for reading. I might try that next time I get new glasses.

Dave

[skyfrog]

I have progressives and they got me past my medical with flying colors.

Do I wear them when flying...**** No.

I prefer to use contacts and reading glasses, or sunglasses with reading inserts. Contact lenses give a much better depth perspective.

I am at the limit of technology on contact lenses. My corrected vision is currently 20/30 or better, but it has a price, $260 per contact lens.

Backups include a spare pair of glasses and a spare set of contacts in my flight bag.

Can I land without either...no problem. The runway is that long and wide thing with white fuzzballs, the taxiway is lighted with those green fuzzballs,

I'm happy with my contacts. I don't plan on any surgery at this time.

John

[n5lp]

My eyes are pretty nasty bad, around a -6.5 correction needed (I can't come close to seeing the big E) and am in my late 50's where you can't accomodate well. Even though my pilot optometrist has been recommending trifocals for many many years I am getting by OK with regular lined bifocals. The only time I notice a problem is on the takeoff roll before the tail comes up. I raise my head to see down the runway and am looking through the reading portion of the glasses. I haven't noticed a problem while landing.

Although I haven't tried progressives yet, due to the reported narrow correction range, side to side, if I did I would give them a good long trial. It is really amazing what the brain can do, given a chance.

Back in school, we read about a study where people were given glasses that inverted the image. Given time the brain even adjusts to that and sees things right side up. Pretty horrible adjustment period though.