During your eye exam, your Optometrist will determine how well you can see, with and without your best glasses prescription. This is usually done by asking you what you see through various lenses and comparing which ones are clearer for you.
Your Optometrist will determine how well your eyes work as a team (Binocular Coordination). Problems here are often the cause of eyestrain symptoms and you would benefit from eye exercises.
They will also examine the health of your eyes, mainly shining bright lights at you to get a good look at the insides of your eyeballs, and at the front of your eyes.
You should have an examination to detect any signs of
Of course, your Optometrist will let you know if there are signs of other rarer problems if they are found.
How do I know if I need an eyetest?
Apart from a routine checkup to watch for early signs of the disease listed above, if you have any of the following symptoms you should have an examination:
vision slow to adjust when looking at a different distance
words jumbling on the page or losing your place a lot
Does an eye test hurt?
A routine examination does not hurt at all. The examining lights can be bright, but these are only for short moments.
If for various reasons you need a medicated eye drop (eg anaesthetic for measuring eye pressure, or dilating drops), these sting a little bit for about 30 seconds.
What does an eye exam cost?
In Australia, Medicare regulates the cost of many types of eye examinations. A routine comprehensive eye examination will cost you $67.15.
After your Medicare rebate of $57.10, you are out of pocket less than $10 for a thorough eye examination! How good is that!
The full rebate is available once every two years, but if you have new signs/symptoms or a progressive eye problem, you are likely to get the full rebate as well.
So don’t wait for it to be two years if you are noticing a problem – just get it sorted out! If you are not yet eligible for the full rebate, you still get $28.60 back.
Why are glasses expensive?
Proper glasses are custom made to order.
They are made to your exact prescription, which is often a little different one eye to another, let alone different to everyone else’s. They are made to your interpupillary distance (Distance between the optical centres of your eyes).
They are made and cut to your chosen frame, to sit directly in front of where your eyes sit compared to that one frame.
This means that there are in excess of 50,760,000 possible combinations that form your unique prescription!! This doesn’t take into account other choices like whether you want Transitions or an Antireflective coating, or tinting……
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Children & Eye Exams
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How old should my son be for his first eye exam? Answer: I recommend routine examinations for children from 3 years of age.
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