After performing an optical assessment, a client has impaired near vision. Which finding would confirm presbyopia?

After performing an optical assessment, a client has impaired near vision. Which finding would confirm presbyopia?

• A. Loss of elasticity of the lens
• B. Increased intraocular pressure
• C. Clouding of the lens
• D. Retinal detachment

Answer: (A)

Presbyopia is an age-related decline in accommodation, the eye’s ability to shift focus from distant to near objects. This ability relies on the crystalline lens becoming thicker and more curved when the ciliary muscle contracts. As the lens loses elasticity with age, it cannot adequately thicken, so near vision diminishes. Finding a loss of lens elasticity directly explains why accommodation for near tasks is reduced, which is the defining feature of presbyopia. Other findings point to different eye conditions: higher intraocular pressure is linked to glaucoma, clouding of the lens indicates a cataract, and retinal detachment involves the retina with symptoms like flashes or a curtain effect. These do not explain the near-vision inability caused by a stiffened lens.

Presbyopia is an age-related decline in accommodation, the eye’s ability to shift focus from distant to near objects. This ability relies on the crystalline lens becoming thicker and more curved when the ciliary muscle contracts. As the lens loses elasticity with age, it cannot adequately thicken, so near vision diminishes. Finding a loss of lens elasticity directly explains why accommodation for near tasks is reduced, which is the defining feature of presbyopia.

Other findings point to different eye conditions: higher intraocular pressure is linked to glaucoma, clouding of the lens indicates a cataract, and retinal detachment involves the retina with symptoms like flashes or a curtain effect. These do not explain the near-vision inability caused by a stiffened lens.