What Are Progressive Lenses?

If you are like many adults, you may need corrective lenses. These can include single-vision lenses as well as progressive lenses or bifocals. If you want to learn more about progressive lenses and how they can help your vision, our team is here to help.

Whatever your vision needs, Superior Eye Care is The Woodlands’ trusted optometrist. Call today to learn more. 

The Basics

Often, people struggle to see close up or far away. However, as we age, it is common for people to develop problems in multiple fields of vision. This can result in some people needing one pair of glasses to see things far away and another for reading.



Progressive lenses combine both of these glasses into one. They create a seamless lens that transitions from your prescription at the top for far objects to a different prescription for close items at the bottom.

Progressive Lenses vs. Multifocal Lenses

You may know someone who wears bifocals, glasses with a visible line demarcating the two lens types. Some people even have trifocals, which include a middle zone for seeing things at a medium distance.

Unlike bifocals and trifocals, progressive lenses don’t have a line separating the fields. This makes them more discreet and creates smoother transitions between vision fields.

Types of Progressive Lenses

The type of progressive lens that works best for you depends on your lifestyle:

• Computer progressive lenses are great options for people who spend a lot of time indoors working on a computer.
• Ground-view progressive lenses are helpful for people who look at the ground often for their work or hobbies
• Premium progressive lenses are custom-made. Your doctor will take measurements of your face, vision fields, and eye dominance to create a unique pair of progressive lenses.
• Standard progressive lenses are not customized for your face but are typically less expensive than premium lenses.

Benefits of Progressive Lenses

People who wear contacts and glasses may benefit from progressive lenses. People opt for these for a variety of benefits, including the following:

• You only need one pair of glasses. This prevents you from losing one pair while wearing another. It also eliminates the annoyance of switching lenses depending on how far away you are looking.
• Progressive lenses are more discreet than bifocals. Some people feel embarrassed to wear bifocals or trifocals, but progressive lenses look like single-vision lenses for all intents and purposes.
• They reduce eye strain associated with image jumps. Image jumps occur when your vision crosses the lines in bifocals or trifocals, causing certain objects to appear to move abruptly. Eye strain is disorienting and negatively impacts vision health.
• Progressive lenses have helped some patients improve their posture since they do not have to crane their necks to see out of the bottom of the lens.

Challenges of Progressive Lenses

While progressive glasses have many benefits, they aren’t right for everybody. It’s important to consider both the pros and the cons of progressive lenses to make an informed decision. Common challenges people face when introducing progressive lenses include:

• Peripheral vision (anything not straight ahead) can appear more blurred than people are used to.
• It can be a big adjustment for those used to single-vision glasses or bifocals with a clear line between fields. Adapting to looking through different parts of your glasses for things at different distances can be a little disorienting at first, but it usually gets better with practice.
• Progressive lenses can be more expensive than a pair of bifocals or trifocals. However, they are usually less expensive than multiple pairs of glasses.
• There may be fewer frame options for those considering progressive lenses.

Reach Out Today

If you want to learn more about progressive lenses, contact Superior Eye Care today. Our team can help you through any questions, whether you hope to restore your eyesight naturally or are simply looking for ways to stop losing your reading glasses.