Nearsightedness vs. Farsightedness: Which Do You Have? (2025)

Nearsightedness (myopia) is the ability to see objects up close clearly, while objects in the distance appear blurry. Farsightedness (hyperopia) is seeing objects in the distance more clearly than objects up close. However, vision can be somewhat blurry at all ranges with farsightedness.

Both are types of refractive disorders caused by how light refracts, or bends, within the eye. They can be treated with eyeglasses, contacts, and LASIK surgery.

What Is Nearsightedness?

If you're nearsighted (myopia), you can see objects near you clearly, while objects far away will be blurry. You'll experience symptoms including:

• Blurred vision of objects that are far away
• Squinting to see far-away objects clearly
• Eye strain, or eyes that feel sore or tired.

Causes

In people with healthy vision, light comes into the eye and into focus on the retina, the tissue at the back of the eye that helps you sense light and color. If you are nearsighted, the shape of your eye makes it so that light focuses in front of the retina, rather than on it. This results in blurry vision for objects that are far away.

What Is Farsightedness?

Hyperopia is seeing far-away objects more clearly than objects near you. However, there is some blurring at all ranges of vision. If you need glasses to read, you are farsighted.

The symptoms of farsightedness include:

• Blurry vision of items that are close to you
• Eye strain or tiredness
• Headaches, especially when reading

Causes

If you are farsighted, light focuses behind your retina rather than on it, resulting in blurry vision of things close to you. This can happen because your eye is too short front-to-back or because of irregularities in the shape of your cornea or lens, two other parts of the eye.

How to Tell If You Are Nearsighted or Farsighted

The official way to tell if you are nearsighted or farsighted is to see an eye doctor. They will perform a thorough eye exam that can diagnose either condition and test for other vision problems, like astigmatism.

Before you go to an eye doctor, you can test your vision by noticing where you experience blurred vision. If you have trouble seeing objects that are far away or find yourself squinting to see better, you are likely nearsighted. If your vision seems blurry at all ranges, you’re likely farsighted.

Does an Eye Exam Diagnose Both?

An eye examcan diagnose nearsightedness, farsightedness, and other vision problems, such as astigmatism orcataracts. If you notice changes to your vision, get headaches, or squint more often, consider seeing an eye doctor to correct your vision.

Is One Worse to Have Than the Other?

Nearsightedness and farsightedness can each impact your day-to-day life, but neither is considered worse than the other. Both can be corrected with classes, contacts, and more permanent procedures like LASIK.

Treatment Differences

The treatments for nearsightedness and farsightedness are similar. The most common treatment for both conditions is wearing corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contacts. Glasses impact where light lands and make it so that light focuses on the retina, resulting in clear vision.

If wearing eyeglasses or contacts is bothersome, you may want to consider more permanent solutions for treating nearsightedness and farsightedness. The most common is LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis), a laser surgery that can treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. During LASIK, the cornea is reshaped so that light focuses on the retina, rather than in front of or behind it.

While LASIK is the most common surgery for correcting vision, other surgical options are available. Automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK) is another procedure that treats both nearsightedness and farsightedness. Conductive keratoplasty (CK) is a type of surgery for farsightedness. Additional options for nearsightedness include:

• Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK): Another laser eye corrective procedure.
• Intracorneal rings (Intacs): Plastic rings inserted into the eye to stretch the cornea and improve vision.
• Implantable contact lenses (ICL): Small, surgically implanted contact lenses used to correct vision.

Conductive keratoplasty (CK) is another surgery used to treat farsightedness. It is a noninvasive procedure that uses low-energy radio waves on the cornea to reshape it and correct vision

Summary

Nearsightedness is the ability to see clearly up close but an inability to see far-away objects clearly. Farsightedness is the opposite: the ability to see far-away objects more clearly than near objects, but vision is blurry at all ranges.

Both nearsightedness and farsightedness are refractive disorders caused by light not landing properly on the retina within the eye. Glasses, contacts, LASIK surgery, and other surgical procedures can help correct both.