Magnification can be extremely beneficial for someone with vision loss from diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and other ocular conditions.
When people think about magnification, they think about handheld magnifiers. However there are many options for magnification that provide additional benefits for certain people.
A handheld magnifying device can be difficult to hold for elderly people for long periods of time. If that is the case, your low vision optometrist may recommend high power reading glasses.
For some people high powered magnifying reading glasses can be uncomfortable as it requires holding the thing that you want magnified close to your eyes. For a lot of people, holding an object very close to their eyes is not very comfortable or makes their arms tired.
What are telescopic glasses?
Telescopic reading glasses have two lenses that provide high magnification and these allow you to hold the material farther away. The two lenses allow you to hold the reading material further apart. When you read from a page with telescopic glasses, you can hold it back further in a similar way to when you are reading normally. The magnification is also adjustable. Despite their low magnification, they do provide a full range of view. These are similar to a pair of magnified reading glasses, but they use a different technology.
Are telescopic glasses effective for everyone?
The answer always depends on the task and the goal. Sometimes it's getting past the realization that one device may not work for every person and kind of recognizing that low vision devices have a range of vision. Therefore, when we see a patient, we are very goal-oriented and task-specific when it comes to our low vision evaluation. That enables us to provide the recommendation that best suits the lifestyle, visual needs, and visual ability of each individual.
