Occupational lenses are like the superheroes of the reading glasses world and are perfect for those who are struggling to see close up but who also need to see further away – something traditional reading glasses can’t do
What are occupational glasses?
Much like the name suggests, occupational lenses are design for use during your ‘occupation’. Basically, this means any job or hobby you do that requires you to do close up work and need to view objects a little bit further ahead.
You might consider occupational lenses, sometimes called ‘enhanced reading glasses’, if you’re over 40 and starting to struggle when reading or doing other close-up work. It’s quite common for people in this age bracket to feel this way as the lens inside their eye struggles to focus on near objects - it’s known as presbyopia.
What is the difference between occupational lenses, reading glasses and varifocals?
If you’re already a glasses wearer and finding it hard to read clearly, this would be the point you might look at varifocals which offer a variety of prescription strengths in one lens – close-up, far away and everything in between. Unfortunately, a traditional varifocal lens doesn’t always have wide enough viewing zones to sit and read at a computer for any length of time due to the restrictions of the lens design.
If you’re not a glasses wearer then you’ve probably considered buying some ‘ready readers’. However, you’ll probably spend the whole time taking them off, or looking over the top of like many an older relative when they need to ‘take a good look at you’. That’s because single-vision reading glasses only give you clear vision at a fixed focal length, usually only 40cm, meaning everything beyond is fuzzy.
Occupational lenses bridge the gap between reading glasses and varifocals. These lenses are particularly suitable for older presbyopes – people who struggle to see clearly at arm’s length (computer type) distances.
And it’s not just office workers who this might affect, there are lots of professions where people need to see close-up but also look across the room – hairdressers, beauty therapists, teachers, shop assistants, waiters, receptionists, musicians – even optometrists and doctors.
Types of occupational lenses
An occupational lens is a generic term given to a multifocal lens that can be used for a person’s occupation or lifestyle. At Specsavers we have occupational lenses in two categories: Premium and Elite.
Our Premium occupational lenses come with a scratch resistant treatment as standard and are great general purpose occupational lenses.
Our Elite occupational lenses, SuperReaders 1-2-3, come with UltraClear SuperClean as standard and are the most modern occupational lenses available, giving you the widest possible fields of view for near and intermediate tasks.
If you’re interested in occupational lenses, your optometrist will learn about your specific lifestyle needs and then the lenses will be precision-made so that they suit your needs perfectly.
Want to find out more? Book an eye test