Yahoo News Vision expert on ten signs your eyesight could be getting worse and when to see an optician
A new study of 2,000 adults has found that six in every ten have seen a decline in their eyesight over the past ten years, with 40% experiencing discomfort or fatigue in their eyes.
However, 31% say that their vision is still clear, while 74% claim confidence in their ability to recognise the common signs of depleting vision.
Despite this, 20% say that they have struggled to read a map, 19%have failed to see a bus number, and 12% have messaged the wrong person as a result of blurred or obscured vision.
A total of 11% misunderstood important emails, 10% misplaced an important item, and seven per cent have misread a major news story according to the study - and eye expert Dr Josie Forte, who has been an optometrist for Specsavers for 20 years, said that these could occur as a result of presbyopia.
The Mirror reports Presbyopia is a gradual loss of your eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects, and is a common condition. Dr Forte, explained: "Subtle changes and impacts relating to our vision can often go unnoticed.
"But like many conditions, if these changes aren't addressed and treated, they can often get worse."
Ten signs your vision may be declining
Finding yourself holding menus or small text further away to read them clearly
Needing to hold reading material at arm's length to focus on it properly
Zooming in on your phone or increasing the font size in order to read better
Your children notice you looking funny when you try to read things
Needing brighter lighting to read something or doing close work
Experiencing blurry vision at normal reading distance
Squinting to bring objects into focus
Having eye strain or headaches after reading or doing close work
Asking to borrow people's glasses to read things
Mistaking the salt for the pepper
