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> As a doctor I know some things about the human eye so I understand how to use those lenses. However, I have no clue about the magic ritual of the optician (“D

> As a doctor I know some things about the human eye so I understand how to use those lenses. However, I have no clue about the magic ritual of the optician (“Do you see better with this lens?” - selects random lens and holds it in front of my eye). >Luckily, I didn’t have to. There's a specific reason why they do this and ask you to make a decision in an instant. It's called accommodation. Your eyes will quickly try and accommodate and find focus if they're allowed to stare too long. This could explain the reason he got such different results from the exams. He was trying too hard. Just follow directions. Edit: > One more thing. Do you remember the process in which an optician makes you wear a new pair of glasses and stares at you with this optician-look, takes the pair of glasses away from you again, goes to the back office and starts bending parts of it in a seemingly random manner, comes back, hands you the pair of glasses which now suddenly fit perfectly? > Yeah, I attempted to do that with my new pair of glasses and noticed that I suck at it. I would bend it to look similar like the glasses from the optician only to realize that the back of my ears were hurting after a few hours of wear. Is he really a Doctor??? He doesn't know there's a Mastoid bone there that the "bending" (aka: Adjusting) the optician is doing is to AVOID putting pressure on that bone!?

devicetray0 7y ago
> Is he really a Doctor??? He doesn't know there's a Mastoid bone there that the "bending" (aka: Adjusting) the optician is doing is to AVOID putting pressure on that bone!? I think that's a little harsh. I took it to mean he realized he had no idea how to properly bend it, and pointed out an optician is the expert here.
ivl 7y ago
> Is he really a Doctor??? He doesn't know there's a Mastoid bone there that the "bending" (aka: Adjusting) the optician is doing is to AVOID putting pressure on that bone!? Doctors are pretty specialized today, and he has a list of publications on his site, right in front of you, so that may be an excessive reaction.
hrktb 7y ago
> There's a specific reason why they do this and ask you to make a decision in an instant. It's called accommodation. You are right. It can be an issue in the other direction though. People are checked after often sizeable waits looking at the same thing (their phone, the wall, outside) for a long time. When you then start the switching lens tests, there will be a set of lens optimal for your current situation, and a different set of lens that would fit better for a long day of doing whatever you are usually doing with the glasses on. Knowing how good a pair matches after accommodation is equally valuable, IMO.
- gowld 7y ago
  It's important to only do eye tests when you are tired, so you get lenses that help you when you need them.
  - mschuster91 7y ago
    Sorry, that's bollocks if not outright dangerous advice. You always need glasses... and having wrongly spec'd glasses will induce massive stress on your eyes and brain. Please consult with a medical professional.
    - phonebanshee 7y ago
      But you do have to choose specifically _when_ you consult with that medical professional. Late in the afternoon after a day in front of the computer, when your eyes are tired? Or first thing in the morning when they're fresh?
      - jtwaleson 7y ago
        There is a big difference between farsightedness and shortsightedness. Optometrists can use eye drops that prevent accommodation for farsighted patients, or they can detect the "plateau" in good vision and take that into consideration for the prescription. No need to wait until your eyes are no longer "fresh" unless you have a really bad optometrist.
fbr 7y ago
> There's a specific reason why they do this and ask you to make a decision in an instant. It's called accommodation. Your eyes will quickly try and accommodate and find focus if they're allowed to stare too long. This could explain the reason he got such different results from the exams. He was trying too hard. Just follow directions. I don't have a long experience with glasses but I have never received these instructions and my experience is similar to the author.
olieidel 7y ago
Yes, I am a doctor. As far as I remember, I studied medicine and graduated. As other comments point out, medicine is a very specialized field nowadays and I didn't specialize in any field (I got into coding healthcare software instead) - in Germany you study all disciplines at University (min. 6 years) and then specialize during something comparable to US residency in a hospital. I understand the process of accommodation. This poses the risk of e.g. over-correcting short-sightedness if you're not aware of it because, with each lens of increasing strength, you accommodate and think "geez, everything just got sharper.. again!". I was aware of this and, as you can find in my article, actually ended up using very similar values for dioptries (the spheres) as the opticians. So either all of us totally forgot about accommodation or all of us were aware of it :) My values mainly differed regarding to astigmatism, and accommodation doesn't play a significant role there. I am also aware of the bone behind my ears, thanks for reminding me :) While you do learn a lot of stuff in med school, learning how to bend those things of glasses which go behind your ears is not part of that. I suppose that's not a skill which can be taught well, anyway - it's more like craftsmanship, getting it right by having done it lots of times.
- jaclaz 7y ago
  If I may, particularly as a doctor yourself, you should call the eye doctor "ophthalmologist", as you surely know if you use "part of the body + doctor" there might be issues should you report a visit by a "proctologist" ...
  - olieidel 7y ago
    Haha! Good point. I guess I thought "eye doctor" made for easier reading, assuming not everyone knows that ophthalmologist == eye doctor.
    - SAI_Peregrinus 7y ago
      The way I typically like to use terms of art in writing is to write the term out first, and then a parenthetical with a definition. For example here you went to see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). It's also good for acronyms and initialisms.

devicetray0 7y ago

> Is he really a Doctor??? He doesn't know there's a Mastoid bone there that the "bending" (aka: Adjusting) the optician is doing is to AVOID putting pressure on that bone!? I think that's a little harsh. I took it to mean he realized he had no idea how to properly bend it, and pointed out an optician is the expert here.

ivl 7y ago

> Is he really a Doctor??? He doesn't know there's a Mastoid bone there that the "bending" (aka: Adjusting) the optician is doing is to AVOID putting pressure on that bone!? Doctors are pretty specialized today, and he has a list of publications on his site, right in front of you, so that may be an excessive reaction.

hrktb 7y ago

> There's a specific reason why they do this and ask you to make a decision in an instant. It's called accommodation. You are right. It can be an issue in the other direction though. People are checked after often sizeable waits looking at the same thing (their phone, the wall, outside) for a long time. When you then start the switching lens tests, there will be a set of lens optimal for your current situation, and a different set of lens that would fit better for a long day of doing whatever you are usually doing with the glasses on. Knowing how good a pair matches after accommodation is equally valuable, IMO.

gowld 7y ago
It's important to only do eye tests when you are tired, so you get lenses that help you when you need them.
- mschuster91 7y ago
  Sorry, that's bollocks if not outright dangerous advice. You always need glasses... and having wrongly spec'd glasses will induce massive stress on your eyes and brain. Please consult with a medical professional.
  - phonebanshee 7y ago
    But you do have to choose specifically _when_ you consult with that medical professional. Late in the afternoon after a day in front of the computer, when your eyes are tired? Or first thing in the morning when they're fresh?
    - jtwaleson 7y ago
      There is a big difference between farsightedness and shortsightedness. Optometrists can use eye drops that prevent accommodation for farsighted patients, or they can detect the "plateau" in good vision and take that into consideration for the prescription. No need to wait until your eyes are no longer "fresh" unless you have a really bad optometrist.

fbr 7y ago

> There's a specific reason why they do this and ask you to make a decision in an instant. It's called accommodation. Your eyes will quickly try and accommodate and find focus if they're allowed to stare too long. This could explain the reason he got such different results from the exams. He was trying too hard. Just follow directions. I don't have a long experience with glasses but I have never received these instructions and my experience is similar to the author.

olieidel 7y ago

Yes, I am a doctor. As far as I remember, I studied medicine and graduated. As other comments point out, medicine is a very specialized field nowadays and I didn't specialize in any field (I got into coding healthcare software instead) - in Germany you study all disciplines at University (min. 6 years) and then specialize during something comparable to US residency in a hospital. I understand the process of accommodation. This poses the risk of e.g. over-correcting short-sightedness if you're not aware of it because, with each lens of increasing strength, you accommodate and think "geez, everything just got sharper.. again!". I was aware of this and, as you can find in my article, actually ended up using very similar values for dioptries (the spheres) as the opticians. So either all of us totally forgot about accommodation or all of us were aware of it :) My values mainly differed regarding to astigmatism, and accommodation doesn't play a significant role there. I am also aware of the bone behind my ears, thanks for reminding me :) While you do learn a lot of stuff in med school, learning how to bend those things of glasses which go behind your ears is not part of that. I suppose that's not a skill which can be taught well, anyway - it's more like craftsmanship, getting it right by having done it lots of times.

jaclaz 7y ago
If I may, particularly as a doctor yourself, you should call the eye doctor "ophthalmologist", as you surely know if you use "part of the body + doctor" there might be issues should you report a visit by a "proctologist" ...
- olieidel 7y ago
  Haha! Good point. I guess I thought "eye doctor" made for easier reading, assuming not everyone knows that ophthalmologist == eye doctor.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 7y ago
    The way I typically like to use terms of art in writing is to write the term out first, and then a parenthetical with a definition. For example here you went to see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). It's also good for acronyms and initialisms.