Is long sightedness the same as presbyopia?
No. Long sightedness (hyperopia) is a focusing error you are born with, where the eye’s optical power is too weak for its length. Presbyopia is the age-related stiffening of the lens that affects near focus later in life. Both blur close vision, and they are different problems with different corrections.
- Subject
- Vision problems
- Topic
- Hyperopia (long sightedness)
- Kind of question
- Other questions
- Procedures
- LASIK, SMILE
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
The reason the two get merged is that they feel similar: reading gets harder, and holding things further away helps. The reason it matters is that they respond to different treatments. Hyperopia is a refractive error a laser or lens can correct; presbyopia is a change in the lens that no laser can reverse.
What this answer depends on
- Age at which the blur started
- Whether distance vision is also affected
- Whether glasses help at distance as well as near
Related guides
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision problems & prescriptions in Hyperopia (long sightedness) . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Condition Hyperopia (long sightedness)
- Condition Presbyopia
- Procedure SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison SMILE vs PRK
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- EyeSmart: eye health information for the public
Patient-facing material from the largest ophthalmology professional body, covering conditions, tests and treatments outside refractive surgery.
Used for Cross-checking patient-facing explanations of non-refractive eye conditions; Describing what tests such as dilation and OCT involve.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026