There is more to wearing glasses comfortably than your prescription alone: Heavy frames or improperly fitted eyeglasses may put pressure on your nose or the sides of your head, causing headaches or discomfort. Glasses that sit too close or too far from your eyes can be uncomfortable, too. Let's explore some possible reasons your eyes or head hurt when you wear your glasses.
If it has been more than a year since your last eye exam, it’s probably time to have your vision checked. Experts recommend a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years. How do you know whether you need glasses? Only a trained eye doctor can tell you for sure.
What if you know an outdated prescription is not the headache culprit—because you just got a brand new pair of glasses? Your eye doctor may have warned you about this, but sometimes adjusting to a new prescription can take a little time. Blurry vision or eye strain can occur—even with the correct lenses—as your eyes adjust.
While resting your eyes by removing your glasses may help with discomfort as you adapt to your new prescription, you should wear your eyeglasses as your optometrist recommends. If you repeatedly remove your glasses, your eyes and brain must work harder, and adjusting will take longer. If you wear the glasses as prescribed, any vision issues should resolve within a week. If a week has passed and you’re still experiencing discomfort, check in again with your eye doctor to see if your prescription needs adjusting.
Incorrectly adjusted frames or lenses can cause a headache when you’re wearing your glasses. Your glasses lenses are customized to fit the distance between your pupils, or PD measurement. Blurry or uncomfortable vision could relate to an incorrect PD—your eye doctor can confirm that the lenses in your glasses include the appropriate measurement.
Your frames should rest comfortably in a position that puts the lenses the proper distance from your eyes. Heavy glasses or an incorrect frame adjustment can cause pain behind the ears if the temples pinch into the sides of your head. Frames that are too small can bind, and frames that are too loose may slip down your nose or rest in the wrong place, so your eyes have to work harder to compensate. An optician can adjust your frames to ensure your glasses fit properly.
Eye strain comes from the overworking of muscles around the eye that must continually adjust in order to focus. Repeated attempts to focus occur for different reasons, including acclimating to a new prescription. But eye strain is also a common problem among computer users.
Wearing reading glasses while using the computer is a habit that often causes eye strain. Remember, reading glasses are for close-up work—closer than the normal distance between you and a monitor. Speak with your eye doctor to ensure you’re using the appropriate lens power for viewing your computer screen.
Eye strain can happen to anyone who spends a lot of time looking at screens, whether they wear glasses or not. Simple eye strain fixes include adjusting the lighting in your workspace and following the 20-20-20 rule: Look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
The effects of screen-related eye strain can be mitigated with a variety of lens options. A digital light protection coating can filter out about 20% of blue light and help to reduce glare. Digital light protection can be applied to prescription or non-prescription lenses, so even people who don’t normally wear glasses can protect their eyes against screen-related discomfort. Anti-reflective lens coatings can cut down on screen glare and eye strain. Finally, looking through scratched lenses may cause eye discomfort, so replace your lenses as necessary.
Eyeglasses are supposed to make your vision clearer and more comfortable. If they seem to be doing the opposite, these tips should point you in the right direction. Even if you’re not experiencing headaches or discomfort, visit your eye doctor annually to discover and correct vision problems.