Monovision With Contact Lenses

By Nancy Del Pizzo; updates and review by Gary Heiting, OD

Bifocal contact lenses may not be for everyone. Because the eye needs time to adjust to sorting out the different powers, it takes some time to adjust to the lenses. Some people will have visual needs that are not satisfied by the current variety of bifocal contacts.

If that's the case, if you have presbyopia you may still be able to wear contact lenses and see clearly at all distances if you choose a contact lens fitting technique called monovision.

How Monovision Works

With monovision, you wear a contact lens on one eye to correct your distance vision and a contact lens on your other eye to correct your near vision. The lens for distance vision is usually worn on your dominant eye.

With monovision, the eye that sees well for distance vision will be slightly blurred up close and the eye that sees well up close will be slightly blurred when looking at distant objects. But with both eyes open, typically the result is acceptably clear and comfortable vision at all distances.

Therefore, the term "monovision" is somewhat misleading. The two eyes still work together as a team to see clearly at all distances; it's just that one eye is clearer than the other, and the "stronger eye" will depend on whether you are looking at something far away or up close.

While monovision may appear to be an unusual choice, most people adjust well to it, and eventually don't even notice which eye is their "distance eye" and which is their "near eye."

Variations of Monovision

Depending on your daily visual demands and how you respond to monovision with contact lenses, your eye doctor may recommend a variation of monovision to best suit your needs. These variations include:

• Mini-monovision. In this variation, a less-than-typical magnifying power is added to the near vision lens. Mini-monovision is often an excellent solution for people who find that standard monovision does not give them the sharp distance vision they desire, and they don't need to do a lot of close-up work (or they don't mind wearing reading glasses on occasion). A good example is someone who spends much of their day driving and little time working on a computer or reading, but wants to be able to read a menu without prescription glasses. Though a person with mini-monovision may need reading glasses more than someone who has standard monovision, they will be less dependent on readers than a person wearing distance contact lenses in both eyes.
• Modified monovision. In this variation, a single vision contact lens is worn on the distance eye and a bifocal contact lens is worn on the near eye. Modified monovision, like mini-monovision can provide sharper distance vision than standard monovision, while still providing acceptable near vision without reading glasses for many close-up tasks. The distance power of the bifocal lens also can be adjusted to provide sharper vision at arm's length for tasks such as computer work.

The Limitations of Monovision

The downside of monovision is that some people will find that it compromises the clarity of their distance vision, making distant objects appear slightly blurred. Others may find that it does not provide adequate near vision to give them the freedom from reading glasses they were hoping for.

Also, although the two eyes still work together as a team in monovision, binocular vision is slightly compromised, which can cause a slight decrease in depth perception.

Cost of Monovision Contact Lenses

In standard monovision and mini-monovision, conventional single vision contact lenses — including disposable contact lenses — are used. Because these are less expensive than multifocal contacts, lens replacements will cost less. Even modified monovision will save you money on lens replacements, since a bifocal contact lens is worn only on the near eye.

But fitting monovision contact lenses is more complex and generally takes more office visits than a regular contact lens fitting. This is because even slight changes to the contact lens power on either eye in monovision can make a significant difference in the wearer's visual satisfaction, and each modification of lens power should be followed by several days of lens wear to see how you adapt to the change.

Therefore, the initial fitting fee for monovision usually will be significantly higher than a standard contact lens fitting. Many eye care professionals charge the same for monovision contact lens fittings as they do for bifocal contact lens fittings. This may be roughly twice the fee for a standard contact lens fitting or more.

Surgical Monovision Options

The concept of monovision can also be used in surgery for presbyopia. Monovision correction can be accomplished with LASIK as well as conductive keratoplasty (CK) and other corneal or lens-based refractive surgeries.

Prior to any surgical monovision correction, it's smart to "test-drive" the concept with contact lenses beforehand. Generally, a two-week period of wearing monovision contact lenses will give you a good idea of how well you will do with permanent surgical monovision.

For more information about the pros and cons of monovision versus bifocal contact lenses for your particular visual needs, see your eye doctor for a consultation and possible trial fitting.

[Page updated May 2009]