Do sunglasses need to be progressive as well?

by Brian
(Toronto)

Q: My daily lenses are progressive and photochromic but my optician recommended dedicated sunglasses when out in bright sun.

I ordered non-progressive lenses in the sunglasses because I would not be using them for reading or working on a computer.

However, even though the sunglasses are the same prescription as my progressives (for distance viewing) I cannot wear them without feeling sea-sick and dizzy. To avoid this problem, should I change the sunglass lenses to be progressive as well?


A: Hello Brian

Well, the problem is that you have a progressive and a monofocal eyeglass (one diopter lenses) and the vision is different with these two.

Your eyes have adapted to multifocal vision so when you wear the monofocal eyeglass, the brain is trying to adapt again to this kind of vision so is harder.

The other problem is that the sunglasses with diopters have specially treated lenses, and this type of lenses can make you dizzy and give you fatigue symptoms, but usually, all this goes away in time.

So, I would say that you should try to wear them for a while, but if you cannot accommodate with them, you will not be able to wear them.

I would say that the photochromatic lenses are good for sunny days and they usually have UV protection, so 1 pair is enough, but if you think you need darker ones, but cannot accommodate with the monofocal, the progressive is the only solution.

Hope this helps,
Arpi

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