Today is the day you get your annual eye exam. Perhaps, you are a man or
woman entering into your fearless forties, you have never had any significant vision problems. So there you are sitting in the exam room, waiting for the doctor to come back in to go over new your results.
Then, BAM! you've just found out you need...BIFOCALS!
So many thoughts are running through your mind, the doctor is explaining what this means but all you here is "wha, wha, wha?" Normally the first thought is fear of aging, the next is "how much money is all of this going to cost?"
Well, we are here to reassure you of all the reasons why bifocals and progressives are not a "coming of age" you need to fear and neither is the cost. When you a multifocal prescription there is a range of vision power in your lenses, meaning you have up to two or three ranges of vision.
Let's talk about cost!
Questions that have been asked about progressive lenses are regarding the cost difference between bifocals and progressives. There's no mystery of the significant cost difference between bifocals and progressives. Even your vision insurance company know this, which is why you will see on most benefit plans that they will cover the full cost of bifocals and only a percentage of progressive lenses. Bifocals consist of two powers, distance and reading. Progressives have distance, intermediate (arms length distance) and reading, this is one reason for the cost difference. In addition to multiple viewing differences, they also include the cosmetic feature of being invisible to the naked eye. This is why you will hear most people shy away from bifocals and move towards progressive lenses because the don't want the line that will definitely tell the story of age. No one wants to wear what they saw their grandparents wearing when they were kids.
The technology of older lenses wasn't nearly as good as today's lenses. Progressive lenses are also digital and manufactured by very sophisticated computerized equipment, the distortion is eliminated and have the best correction. Progressives cost more because of its computerized technology. Bifocals on the other hand, are cheaper lenses that may not give you the best correction because they are cut from premade lens blanks, which is why most vision insurances will cover the total cost for these, most times. Progressives aren't always the first choice when it comes to money but it is cost effective in the long run. By the time you total up how much you spend to replace bifocals every other year, you would have spent more on bifocals alone rather than progressives.
Some of the top manufactured progressive lenses are:
Hoyalux iD MyStyle (Hoya Vision Care)
Seiko Supercede (Seiko Optical Products of America)
Shamir Autograph II (Shamir Insight)
Varilux Physio DRx (Essilor of America)
Sola HDV (Carl Zeiss Vision)
Zeiss Progressive Individual 2 (Carl Zeiss Vision)
The progressive lenses that PRFEC prefers and uses most is the Hoya iD Mystyle Clarity and Harmony.
Have more questions and concerns about multifocal lenses? Please call us
at 334-593-3868