Hyperopia and Aging

Hyperopia is the technical term for farsightedness, the inability to see objects that are close to the eyes. It occurs when the eyeball is too small, causing light rays to focus behind the retina instead of directly on it.

About one in four people in the U.S. are diagnosed with hyperopia. Children are often born with hyperopia that exists only until their eyeballs lengthen to normal size. Children's eyes also learn to compensate for mild hyperopia - a function called accommodation. In adults with hyperopia, however, aging diminishes the ability to accommodate, thereby causing the condition to worsen with age. Roughly half of all persons over age 65 have some degree of hyperopia that requires treatment with glasses, contacts or surgery.

Hyperopia differs from presbyopia, another age-related problem with farsightedness. Common in people age 40 and older, presbyopia is not related to the shape of the eyeball. Rather it occurs with aging, when the eye's lens begins to lose flexibility. Unlike hyperopia, presbyopia may still exist after laser surgery.

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