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  • Eye Health & Wellness

Myopia vs. Hyperopia: Two Common Vision Conditions

  • Last updated November 3, 2022

4 min read

Danielle Stoken
Written byDanielle Stoken
Jovi Boparai, MD
Reviewed by Jovi Boparai, MD
Danielle Stoken
Danielle StokenEye Health & Wellness ContributorPittsburgh, PA

Bio

I was so excited when I learned about CorneaCare and am honored to share content, tips and stories about dry eye! I am a certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative nutrition so the intersection of nutrition/lifestyle and dry eye disease is one that I am particularly passionate about. Since recently becoming a mom, I care even more about my eye care and self-care and am learning so much through CorneaCare's educational resources.

Get to know me a little better!

Hobby: baking sourdough bread
Food: pasta
Superhero: my dad
Guilty pleasure: cold brew coffee (really, any coffee)
Secret power: serious facial recognition/recollection

Training:

Undergraduate: Carnegie Mellon University
Nutrition training: Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Jovi Boparai, MD
Jovi Boparai, MDCo-founder & CEO of CorneaCarePhiladelphia, PA

Bio

Dry eye disease is tough! I get it. I have struggled with dry eyes for several years from contact lens use, and from spending countless hours looking at computer screens. In college, my dry eyes got so bad that I couldn’t wear contact lenses, because of a constant “foreign body sensation” when I had them in. I had to stop reading every 30 minutes because my eyes would start to burn and my vision would get blurry. I tried a plethora of treatments and nothing seemed to work. Dry eye disease was not only impacting my eyes, but also my emotional wellbeing. It was preventing me from enjoying life, and getting in the way of my professional training. I felt overwhelmed, frustrated and hopeless.

It was only when I realized that my dry eyes were linked to my lifestyle, environment and overall health did things start to make sense. I noticed that on days when I spent less time on the computer, my eyes felt better. My symptoms would flare when it was windy, or when there was low humidity. I knew that if I wanted to get ahead of my dry eyes, I needed to not only treat my eyes, but to also address my lifestyle. I started a consistent regimen of artificial tears and eyelid hygiene. I switched from monthly contact lenses to daily contact lenses. I started taking scheduled breaks from looking at a computer. I ate a healthier diet focused on anti-inflammatory/antioxidants foods, and I bought a humidifier for my room. In the beginning doing all this seemed impossible, but over time it became part of my usual routine. Not only did my eyes feel better, but I was overall healthier and happier! Turns out what is good for my eyes, was also good for my mind and body. I carried this lesson with me as I started my career to become an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon.

Because of my personal journey and professional training, I believe dry eye treatment starts by listening to and empowering the patient. I listen for the struggles and cue in on their strengths, while picking up on their lifestyle. Only then do we together start building a treatment plan that incorporates good eye hygiene with small, but impactful lifestyle changes. Our sight is our most important sense, and it is intimately linked to our very being. I want dry eye patients to not only get their dry eyes under control, but to also enjoy good mental and physical health, and live a fulfilling life. What is good for the eyes should also strengthen the mind and fortify the body!

Get to know me a little better!

Hobby: vintage watches
Food: peanut butter
Superhero: Superman
Guilty pleasure: desserts
Secret power: has never had a headache

Training:

Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh Honors College
Medical school: Weill Cornell Medicine
Ophthalmology residency: Wills Eye Hospital.

Myopia vs. Hyperopia: Two Common Vision Conditions

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Table of Contents

Myopia vs. Hyperopia: Overview

Myopia and hyperopia (refractive errors) are two common visual conditions that lead to children and adults not seeing clearly. Most people know them by the names that categorize what someone can see without glasses or contact lenses – nearsightedness aka myopia (can see near but not far) or farsightedness aka hyperopia (can see far, but not near). 

Many researchers believe both conditions are hereditary, though environmental and behavioral factors may contribute to the progression of the conditions. 

Here we’ll cover what refractive errors are, the differences between myopia vs. hyperopia and how you can take steps to care for your vision and possibly stop the conditions from worsening.

Key Points

  • Myopia and hyperopia are eye problems caused by refractive errors due to the shape of the eye.
  • With myopia, nearby objects are clear but objects in the distance are blurry, and with hyperopia, it’s the opposite.
  • Both are vision problems that occur in childhood and are easily treated with corrective lenses.
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Keywords

Hyperopia, farsightedness, myopia, nearsightedness, presbyopia, refractive errors

What is the Difference Between Myopia and Hyperopia?

While myopia and hyperopia are both refractive errors,they are quite different and require different treatments.

The main difference between myopia and hyperopia is that with myopia, you can see things up close, but not far away and with hyperopia, you can see far distance, but not up close, like for reading.¹ With astigmatism, your vision is blurry at all distances.

Lifestyle Changes: balanced diet, working with the weather, taking regular breaks

What are Refractive Errors?

It is estimated that over 150 million Americans have refractive errors.¹ Worldwide, about 43% of the population experiences visual impairment due to refractive errors.²

Refractive errors are visual conditions that cause difficulty seeing clearly, often resulting in blurry vision. The reason they occur is due to how the eye shape develops. With refractive errors, the eye shape impedes the light that should normally filter through (refract) to the retina and help you see.¹

Myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia are all examples of refractive errors. While myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism typically present earlier in life, patients may also develop them later in life. For example, cataract progression may lead to developing myopia (a myopic-shift). Developing a pterygium or worsening keratoconus may induce astigmatism. Presbyopia, which is similar to hyperopia in that it affects mostly near vision, occurs after the age or 45-50, and is the result of cataract progression.

The good news is that refractive errors are treatable with contact lenses, glasses or refractive surgery, like LASIK. 

Nutritional health and dry eye disease

Myopia (Nearsightedness) Symptoms

With myopia, objects close up are clear, but objects like road signs, chalkboards, billboards, etc. that are further away are blurry. 

Nearsightedness occurs when light focuses in front of the retina instead of on it due to the shape of the eye, such as, when the eyeball grows too long from front to back.³

The onset of myopia is between ages six and 14 and progresses until your early twenties. Some research suggests that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to have myopia, but experts aren’t clear why.³

If your parents, siblings or grandparents are nearsighted, you are at higher risk of myopia.³ 

Myopia Treatment

Since myopia typically begins in childhood, most eye doctors prescribe eyeglasses first to correct sight. 

Many people opt to use contact lenses later in childhood and into adulthood or get laser eye surgery, like LASIK, to change the shape of the cornea so that it can filter light correctly.³ Most recently, contact lenses have become available to slow the progression of myopia in children.

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Hyperopia (Farsightedness) Symptoms

Like myopia, hyperopia (farsightedness) is also hereditary. With hyperopia, you have good distance vision, but objects up close are blurry. 

Hyperopia happens because the eye does not bend light properly and thus, the light ends up focusing behind the retina.⁴ 

Hyperopia is also a lifelong condition, often beginning at birth, though symptoms may not become apparent until later in childhood.⁵ Most childhood eye exams only check distant vision, often missing near vision eye problems.⁵

Some people confuse hyperopia with presbyopia, another refractive error that causes farsightedness. While hyperopia and presbyopia are both conditions that cause blurred vision when viewing objects up close, presbyopia is often age-related and progresses as you get older due to cataract progression.  

Key symptoms of dry eye disease

With hyperopia, children or adolescents may notice eye strain while using a computer, reading or generally having very tired eyes after a day of working. Some also experience frequent headaches (also due to eye strain). With undiagnosed hyperopia, eyes may ache or burn often or you feel irritable after sustained concentration that requires close reading or focus on objects.⁴

Hyperopia Treatment

Treatment options for hyperopia are similar to those for myopia. An eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist) will prescribe corrective lenses like eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct the shape of the lens of the eye and allow light rays to pass through normally.⁴

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Putting It All Together

Access to eye care early in childhood is critically important to lifelong eye health. Vision conditions like refractive errors are easily treatable and can greatly impact the quality of life and educational advancement of children and adolescents. 

Knowing the differences between myopia vs. hyperopia will allow you to advocate for your child (or yourself) when symptoms begin and a diagnosis is needed. 

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What’s Next

Learn to love your eyes! Read more eye health and wellness tips on our blog.

Bibliography

  1. “Refractive Errors.” National Eye Institute, 10 June 2022, https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/refractive-errors. Accessed 15 July 2022.
  2. “Global and regional estimates of prevalence of refractive errors: Systematic review and meta-analysis.” NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5859285/. Accessed 14 July 2022.
  3. “Nearsightedness (Myopia).” National Eye Institute, 8 September 2020, https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/nearsightedness-myopia. Accessed 22 July 2022.
  4. “Hyperopia (farsightedness) | AOA.” American Optometric Association, https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/hyperopia?sso=y. Accessed 22 July 2022.
  5. Altshul, Sara, and Robert Jasmer. “What Is Hyperopia (Farsightedness)? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.” Everyday Health, https://www.everydayhealth.com/hyperopia/guide/. Accessed 22 July 2022.

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