If you are not able to see clearly at arm’s length, then it makes sense for you to wear bifocal eyeglasses. This is the best solution. Modern bifocals are designed to have two lens powers. The lower portion of the lens is designed to help you focus better on objects that are close to you while the upper part is designed to help you see clearly at a distance.
Not ideal for every situation
The reason why the lower part is for reading and the upper for distance viewing is that people generally look down to see objects that are close to them and they look up to see things at a distance. Even though your bifocals are designed to fix your near and farsightedness, they are not ideal for every situation. For example, if you need to view your computer screen, the bifocal design is not ideal because the distance to the computer screen falls between near and far distances.
Dividing line in the lenses
In most bifocal eyeglasses, there is a line in each lens that divides the upper from the lower portion of the lenses. This gives bifocals a somewhat unnatural appearance and is one of the reasons why people don’t like to wear bifocals. If you want lenses that correct your far and nearsightedness and which don’t have a dividing line, then you should seriously think about wearing progressives. In these eyeglasses, there is no dividing line between the upper and lower parts of the lenses.
Age is a factor
The need to wear bifocal eyeglasses normally arises after a person reaches a certain age. When a person is not so old, they generally either have trouble viewing things at a distance or close up. For them, a single lens pair of eyeglasses is enough. However, when the eyes start to lose their ability to see things clearly close up and at a distance, then there is a need for bifocals.
Two lens powers
The bifocal lens is made up of two lenses. The first lens helps to correct a myopic condition while the other lens is designed to correct hyperopia conditions. This means that a single bifocal has four lenses in all. Most of us suffer from myopia or hyperopia. The trouble starts when a person has both conditions at the same time. At such times, only bifocals (or progressives) will help solve the problem.
Corrects both myopia and hyperopia
People tend to choose bifocal eyeglasses when they want to correct both their myopic and hyperopic conditions and when they also do not mind the line in the lenses that divide the two lens powers. The other reason to choose bifocals is it obviates the need to have two separate eyeglasses to correct two different eye problems. With your bifocals, it is easy for you to read a book and see things at a distance.
Before you decide whether to wear bifocals or progressives, it makes sense for you to look at your daily activities. People who work in front of a computer will normally benefit more by opting for progressives but if you are a person who reads a lot, then bifocals are the better option.