MonoVison – half and half optical solution
Which one is my reading eye?
Monovision is an optical way of working around presbyopia. In essence, one eye is corrected for optimal distance vision, and the other is corrected for middle or near vision. This technique is commonly used with both contact lenses and corrective vision surgery.
There is also a method called modified mono-vision that entails the use of multifocal contact lenses to accentuate the benefit of monovision. Rather than correcting one eye strictly for distance and one strictly for near vision, contact lenses expand the available range of focus. When correcting presbyopia with modified monovision, one eye is corrected for distance and middle vision. The other eye is corrected for middle and near vision. By using this method, the two eyes have an overlapping focal point which will improve overall vision.
Vision correction surgeries are only able to correct for a single focal point, therefore, modified monovision is most effective when done with the aid of contact lenses. There are millions of presbyopic people around the world who benefit from monovision, whether through the aid of contact lenses or not.
The decision on which eye is your reading eye and which will be the distance eye should be left up to your eye care provider. Also, how much to undercorrect the reading eye will be left to an experienced contact lens fitter. Usually, but not always, your dominant eye wil be the one corrected for distance. And easy way to decipher which eye is your dominant eye, snap a picture. Which eye did you look through the site with? most likely, that was your dominant eye.
As you can imagine, monovision poses a compromise in vision. Vision is not 100% optimal in any one area, yet you are able to see in all areas. So yeah, it’s a bit of a compromise. But that’s ok, many people who have adapted to monovision forget that there eyes are set up that way and end up loving it.