Pinhole Glasses For Clearer Vision With Less Eye Strain

By Author: Alan Irel
Total Articles: 20
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Have you reached that certain age where the print seems smaller on everything you read? Have you always been able to see clearly without glasses, but lately you cannot quite get distant objects into focus? Do the edges of the objects in your field of view seem fuzzy? All of these conditions are easily explained. Presbyopia, Myopia, and Astigmatism are all conditions that are diagnosed by eye care professionals.

Pinhole glasses - An Alternative to Prescription Glasses

Pinhole glasses are designed to strengthen the eyes and to allow you to see more clearly. These unique glasses were originally designed to look like sunglasses using a flat plastic lens with little pin size holes in a specific pattern. The perforations minimize the amount of light entering. This allows the retina to see an image more clearly.

You may wonder if all those little pinholes will be distracting ...
... when looking through the lenses. Although you might notice a slight honeycomb effect when viewing an object up close, when you look out farther away the pinholes are hardly noticeable, if you see them at all. After a slight period of adjustment you do not even notice the holes at all. It is worth noting however that pinhole glasses tend to lessen the area of your peripheral vision. Because of this, they should not be worn for driving or other activities where peripheral vision is important. Also, due to the reduction in light when using these remarkable specs, well placed bright light should be used for close up work and reading.

Reduce Computer and Television Eye Strain

Glare from computer and television screens along with harsh overhead light contribute to eye strain. Well positioned non-glare light combined with pinhole glasses serves to reduce the amount of strain because the depth of the field of vision is more focused.

There is some controversy as to whether pinhole glasses are of any benefit other than when used by a diagnostician. While pinhole glasses may not permanently cure eye conditions such as presbyopia, myopia and astigmatism, they do seem to make your field of vision clearer while reducing eye strain.


Alan Irel is a research assistant who has been writing and publishing vision-related articles, including pinhole glasses, for almost a decade. The rising popularity and claims on the efficacy of pinhole glasses in improving eyesight has aroused his curiosity to delve into this age-old technique for eyesight correction.