Survey: Americans are Frustrated by Unexpected Blurry Near Vision Issues

According to a recent survey commissioned by Allergan, of 1,000 adults ages 40–55 who reported having near vision issues, 65% of survey respondents said that they were not prepared to have their eyesight worsen as they got older, and a quarter admitted they were in denial that their near vision was getting worse.

“While most people have not heard of the medical term for age-related blurry near vision, presbyopia is a natural part of aging and affects approximately 128 million adults in the U.S.,” Selina McGee, OD, Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, said in an Allergan news release. “The survey results reinforce what I hear from patients with near vision issues in my practice every day—that these challenges are increasingly frustrating, and impact their daily lives, especially when they are looking at their cell phones, reading, or trying to see a menu in a dimly lit restaurant.”

In a year filled with Zoom calls and virtual gatherings, 84% of survey respondents reported that it was more frustrating to have blurry near vision when trying to read than having a video call freeze. There are options available to manage near vision issues, but they can come with challenges of their own. Over half of those surveyed with reading glasses (51%) admitted they lose or misplace them at least once a week; and over a quarter (26%) said they lose them daily. Additionally, for many adults, blurry near vision may impact the activities they enjoy most. In fact, half of survey respondents admitted they decreased or gave up on a hobby because they could no longer see well up close.

Individuals are invited to visit BlurryNearVision.com, a website from Allergan, offering information on presbyopia. The site features an interactive component that shows how people see text up close when they have presbyopia and a quiz to uncover how the condition could be affecting their daily lives. Visitors can use these tools as a starting point when talking to their ECPs about their symptoms.

The online Blurry Near Vision survey, commissioned by Allergan and conducted by Wakefield Research, was fielded from August 2 – August 9, 2021, to 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 40 – 55 who reported having near vision issues. It was not confirmed whether the repondents were diagnosed with presbyopia.