Glasses wearers - help please!

[pastymuncher]

Thanks! But as a n00b to opticians etc, do I just make another appointment and ask for specific monitor glasses?

You need to do exactly as this chap did.

I started getting headaches too.. unfortunately the distance of my monitor is the mid-point where my eyesight is fine.
I have long distance glasses for driving and TV, but recently got some ones for on the computer. But similar to you, they made it worse.

I would measure accurately the distance of your face to your monitor, and make sure you test at that distance at the opticians.

That's what I did and Specsavers did a prescription for me based on that and it was bang on. No more headaches. Specsavers drew up the prescription then I ordered the actual glasses from Select Specs as they are massively cheaper. Specsavers coatings and special lenses are disgracefully priced.

 

[HangTime]

Assuming the screens are the same size and the scaling is set the same, then at 1080P you should be straining less as everything should be bigger.

Even if the screens at work are smaller e.g. the more typical 24" for 1080P screens, then the Pixels per Inch will still be lower (i.e. everything will be slightly bigger).

This is all true in terms of a like-for-like comparison but ultimately your assumptions in the first line are a bit of an unknown, we don't know how big the work monitors are, how far away he sits from the monitors at work compared to home (some offices it's hard to move the monitor screen close enough), whether he's using DPI scaling etc.
I've seen dual 1080p screens in offices be in the 22" range quite a few times for example (I've even seen 19", place I used to work you had the choice of 1x24" or 2x19") and that's pretty close to his home setup in terms of PPI, so if he's sitting closer to the screens at home the text might look bigger.

 

[SuperElectric]

I am the glasses man

Get new glasses = no more headaches



EDIT: Headaches could also be a symptom of a different medical condition. This is not medical advice.

 

[ilc72]

Seriously if this is affecting you at work get a bigger screen, one with a blue light filter, and perhaps a higher refresh rate. Most businesses buy the cheapest monitors, if you had an issue with back pain then you’d likely get an ergonomic chair. I would discuss it with line manager in first instance and Occupational Therapy if you have a department.

 

[danswan]

I've booked another eye test at Specsavers on Tuesday morning and I'm going to take measurements to my monitor screens. Thanks for the advice, I'll report back once I've got some new glasses

 

[uber soldat]

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

Going varifocal is a gamble but it worked out for me and there is no turning back. I'm using them now for a 27" screen at arm's length, a mobile phone at reading/book distance from my face, walking down the street, crossing roads and looking at lasers and other visuals when I go to gigs. You just look up to see further away and look down to see close up.

Also, having varifocals means that you don't need 2 pairs of glasses. When I had 2 pairs, I ended up losing one of them because I was switching between the 2 pairs and mislaid one of them. Having varifocals means that I wear that 1 pair full time so it's impossible to lose it because they're on me all the time. When I'm asleep or having a shower, I keep them on my bedside table, whether that's at home or in a hotel. So come up with a system on how you'll never lose glasses again.

So I recommend trying varifocal once and if it doesn't work out, then at least you tried.

 

[danswan]

Well I went back to Specsavers and asked them for glasses to suit working at my monitor. They did some tests and did some stuff to my existing glasses. Having tried to use them for a while it's made no difference, I still find myself leaving the glasses off. It's a little blurry but I don't get the headaches I do when wearing the glasses

 

[slinxy]

At home I use two 28" 4k monitors, plus how many retina display macBook pros I need for the day at the max resolution and it's fine.
At work we have 42" curved Dell monitors at some weird ******** resolution that makes everything larger that I'm used to... and they give me a banging headache, so I tend to just use the built in display but the real estate isn't large enough for some of the tasks.

It's not just about resolution, it's about refreash rates, lighting, sitting position and all sorts.
My monitor at home has auto light levels, blue light removal and works on 60hz.. I really cba'd to keep playing around with the settings on the monitor at work as they are ultra wide screen and just make stuff look weird.

Incidentally, the monitor at my desk got swapped for a HP one that is less curved for a few weeks and my eyes was much better then it got swapped by to the Dell and I was on the phone straight to the hardware lads asking them for the HP monitor back. lol

Also it depends a lot on what I'm doing for the day, trying to follow someone via screen sharing on teams while they demo something and I can't watch for more than 20 mins without moaning (lol).. then again I can't play first person shooters anymore without getting motion sickness.

Might be worth reaching out to your company's DSE and they can do an assessment. For me I just use it as an reason to go home early for the few hours that I'm during the two days per week they would "like" me to be in the office.

 

[OspreyO]

When I get a new prescription it can take some time to get used them. Often get a headache but it should settle down after a while. I've used varifocal for years. Recently finding they weren't working for computers screens. Got a new prescription but could not get used them at all. After a long saga. I've ended up getting an intermediate prescription (not varifocal) for arms length away and moving my work monitors 2x27" closer to me on the desk.

This time I did not get the blue light filter because it tints the colour you see, and any coating marks too easily. Personally I stay away from the higher resolutions its too hard work. Varifocals are handy but they have a lot of distortion when panning across the desk at two monitors. But easier on the eye without it.

It took a long time the fist time to adjust to varifocals. This time I could not adjust to the varifocals, I tried twice. So I have pair for long distance, and another for the computer. Also have my old varifocals and a couple of new ones that I can't use.

 

[secretspy]

Well I went back to Specsavers and asked them for glasses to suit working at my monitor. They did some tests and did some stuff to my existing glasses. Having tried to use them for a while it's made no difference, I still find myself leaving the glasses off. It's a little blurry but I don't get the headaches I do when wearing the glasses

Does it feel like the prescription is too strong when looking at the monitors or that it's not enough and you're straining your eyes? You could try another opticians or could try picking up a cheap pair that's just slightly less/more strength and trying it before going back to opticians?

I wear glasses for distance but I always found the style of glasses that have the little adjustable nose things (I can't recall the technical name ) put too much pressure on my nose and I'd get headaches. I now have the style that sit on the top of my nose but I still wear my contact lenses 90% of the time. I do also find I can't wear my glasses for long when working. I'm not sure if it's the glare that comes in from my window or the glare of the screen (even though the glasses have anti glare coating) but I find I'm sometimes struggling to focus and get headaches If I wear them too long. I'm perfectly fine when I have contact lenses in though.

 

[jpaul]

It took a long time the fist time to adjust to varifocals. This time I could not adjust to the varifocals, I tried twice. So I have pair for long distance, and another for the computer. Also have my old varifocals and a couple of new ones that I can't use.

whose varifocal have you tried ? i've had some hoya id's for ~10 years and currently looking at new prescription probably varilux xr comfort which will be probably £400,

Have used them for screen work, and they have a good size corridor minimal distortion, I use flat screens, minimal reflections with anti-glare on both sides.
Only problem is need to be looking out of top of glasses for far vision, so slouching on the sofa isn't good for tv, say; prescription is only -1.5/-3 with +0.75 adds

I would hope to get a similar lifetime from new ones, long term invetment !,and will even put them on house insurance

 

[Bubo]

Getting specific computer distance glasses should be the answer, it was for me, surprised its not for you unless they got their measurements wrong. I have a pair of computer glasses at home and another one at my desk at work, and swap over when needed. The second pair was bought cheap off those glasses websites, once I had prised my pupilary distance out of the optician at Boots, they knew exactly why I was asking.

I have varifocals as my standard pair, but my eyes have been messing me about for reading distance as I find since first getting them I have to tilt my head back further and further to read. It's this getting old business and your eyes are still changing just for close up reading, distance stays the same. I am fed up with varifocals to be honest.

Luckily for me if I just take them off and hold phone or steam deck up closer there is a sweet spot where I have clear perfect vision without any glasses, and this is what I do do, just take them off. You'll often see me in the supermarket lifting them to read the dates on food items etc. Very short sighted though otherwise.

 

[thenewoc]

Could it be that the screens are positioned differently in relation to a window? It's best to sit facing a window so the window light isn't coming over your shoulder and reflecting off any screens.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

Could also be the style of glasses - thicker heavier frames give me awful headaches, especially if they’re the kind to sit on the bridge of your nose rather than using pads. I’ve used thin light metal frames with nose pads for years now and not had headaches except for particular days where I’ve worked for too long etc.