Low Vision Devices for Near Tasks LowVisionRehabServices.com

Low Vision Devices for Near Tasks— Reading, Writing, Sewing, & Hand Work

Near Optical Devices

“Near” devices are for close work, such as reading, writing, sewing, and hand work. The most common devices in this category include:

Stand Magnifiers

The simplest device for reading is the stand magnifier. When placed on the page, this type of magnifier is automatically in focus for reading.

Some advantages of stand magnifiers are:

They rest flat on the page, and do not need to be held above the page. Therefore, they are not tiring to hold above the page or frustrating to hold steady, like a hand held magnifier may be. The focusing distance is set by simply placing the magnifier on the page.
They are helpful for longer reading periods, and for reading at home
Most stand magnifiers now come with built-in lights, so provide excellent illumination
They are fairly inexpensive and easy to use
They can be used in combination with regular eyeglasses and bifocals

Some disadvantages of stand magnifiers are:

They are larger and perhaps bulkier than a hand held magnifier, and therefore are not as portable, and may not fit in your pocket or purse to take to a store or restaurant

If you do not get fairly close to the lens, you may see a relatively small field of view. Therefore, you should use a reading stand to get closer to the lens (otherwise you have to bend over, which can be tiring)
If the stand magnifier does not have a light, it may cast a shadow or cause reflections

Hand Held Magnifiers

A hand held magnifier is especially useful for brief “spot” reading and for portable use, such as reading a menu in a restaurant, prices or labels in a store, or appliance dials at home. They can either be full size or a small pocket magnifier. They can have a bright light.

Some advantages of hand held magnifiers are:

Many persons are already used to using one, or they can easily learn to use one
They are very portable and easy to take to a restaurant, store, or church
They are relatively inexpensive
If they have a light, it can provide helpful illumination, such as when reading a menu in a darker restaurant
They are available in a variety of magnification strengths, sizes, and shapes

Some disadvantages of hand held magnifiers are:

They are tiring to hold, and are not intended for long reading periods, such as sitting down to read the newspaper, a magazine, or book
They may be frustrating to hold steady, and to find and maintain the correct focal distance
They require steady hands and good motor control.
If it does not have a light, it may cast a shadow or catch reflections from the light
If you don’t hold it close to your eye, you may have a small field of view, and only see a few words or letters at a time.

Magnifying Reading Glasses

Magnifying reading glasses allow an individual to read for longer periods of time. They produce magnified images of small words and objects.

Some advantages of magnifying reading glasses are:

They help provide a wide field of view, so you can read a fair amount of a line at a time
They are portable, allowing you to read or do hand work almost anywhere
Your hands are free—not needing to hold a magnifier
Because you are hands free, they may be helpful when reading the computer screen, sheet music, or doing hand work
With lower powered magnifying reading glasses, you may be able to use both eyes

Some disadvantages of magnifying reading glasses are:

They require you to hold things very close (whether reading materials or hand work)
Because you need to hold things very close, it may block out available light. Most persons with low vision need good illumination, so use of strong reading glasses may complicate this
You need to hold print (or other materials) very steady. This can be frustrating, especially if a book is heavy, if you are reading for a long period of time, or if your hands shake
If a person is quite nearsighted (myopic) and or has a high amount of astigmatism, they may not like strong reading glasses or do well with them
Holding things close and correct use of the strong reading glasses usually requires training to use them successfully, and practice to keep things in good focus

Clip-on Loupes

Loupes are magnifying devices. A clip-on loupe attaches to glasses, and allows a person to be hands free while viewing text, the computer screen, sheet music, or hand work. Stronger loupes (over +10D) can only be used with one eye, whereas weaker loupes can be used for both eyes.

Some advantages of clip-on loupes are:

They allow the person to retain their correction from their prescription glasses while using them. This is especially helpful if they have strong myopia (nearsightedness) or astigmatism
They are convenient and easy to use—flip them up when not using them, bring them down in front of your glasses when you are using them
Your hands are free—not needing to hold a magnifier
They are inexpensive

Some disadvantages of clip-on loupes are:

For larger loupes (used for persons with larger glasses), they may be a bit heavy, and may even cause the glasses to slip down a bit on your nose
If the loupe has a bar attaching it to the clip, and the loupe rests a couple inches in front of the glasses, some persons may feel that the bar is a bit distracting, or that the field of view is somewhat small through the loupe
Stronger loupes may require that you only use one eye

Digital or Video Magnifiers

Digital or video magnifiers are an exciting alternative to optical devices for many near tasks, and provide some wonderful advantages to persons with low vision. They are available both as desktop and also very portable digital magnifiers. They not only greatly enlarge print for more easy reading, but very importantly, they enhance the contrast of text and pictures. Good contrast is crucial for persons with a vision impairment, and is often one of their greatest challenges. Digital magnifiers provide perhaps the easiest way to read, see pictures, and almost anything desired (like prescription bottles, bills, or handwork). They also allow a person to read much faster, which therefore facilitates you being able to concentrate on the text more easily and remember what you’re reading.

Some new digital magnifiers include advanced optical character recognition (OCR), which then allows you to hear the text that is magnified on the screen. You can listen to the book, magazine, or whatever you’re reading at any speed, at any volume, and in many different languages or styles of voices. are an exciting alternative to optical devices for many near tasks, and provide some wonderful advantages to persons with low vision.

Some advantages of digital magnifiers are:

They can enlarge the print to almost any size (1.7x to 75x)
They enhance the contrast of text and pictures, which is so important
They help a person read much faster and much more easily
By reading faster, your comprehension increases, and you remember what you’ve read more easily
You have a much wider field of view—you see more of the book, magazine, or text
You can use both eyes for reading, even with high magnification—which is not true of most optical devices (where you have to read with only one eye in high magnification)
The new digital magnifiers with speech output (and OCR) make reading even less tedious and much easier. You can both look at the screen with the magnified print, and listen to the text, at any desired speed and volume.

Some disadvantages of digital magnifiers are:

They are more expensive than most optical magnifiers
The desktop video magnifiers are not portable, but instead require you to sit at a desk or table. (The portable digital magnifiers, however, are very portable, and can be taken anywhere!)

Telemicroscopic Glasses

Telemicroscopic glasses are telescopes that are adapted and made for tasks at near, rather than at distance like most telescopes. They are available in many different designs. Telemicroscopic glasses, in contrast to strong magnifying reading glasses, allow a more comfortable working distance when reading, using the computer, seeing sheet music, doing hand work, playing cards, and other tasks.

Some advantages of telemicroscopic glasses are:

A more comfortable working distance than magnifying reading glasses or clip-on loupes
Your hands are free—not needing to hold a magnifier
They usually have excellent optics, and provide an image that is likely very crisp

Some disadvantages of telemicroscopic glasses are:

A smaller field of view, which can be quite frustrating
The image may be somewhat dark, and most people need very good lighting
They can be quite expensive

It’s important to remember that the benefits of low vision devices can be enhanced by combining them with non-optical devices. Some helpful and important non-optical devices that can assist in the successful use of optical devices include:

Reading stands, to help position and hold reading and writing materials
Desk or floor lamps, to help provide improved illumination
Yellow colored sunglasses (or a yellow acetate sheet cover) to help reduce glare
A typoscope, to help keep your place on the line as you read and draw attention where to look on the page

Using Low Vision Devices and Non-Optical Aids

Before any low vision device or non-optical aid can be effective and comfortable, you will need to:

Be motivated to use the device for specific tasks
Be confident that the device has been appropriately prescribed
Know how to maximize the use of the device
Know its potential and limitations
Supplement your use of low vision devices and all tasks with appropriate lighting. To achieve the best results from the use of any low vision device, lighting from a flexible-arm task lamp can often prove to be essential
Use a reading stand to position and hold the reading and writing materials

It’s also important to realize that it often takes time, patience, practice, and much encouragement and support to learn how to use low vision devices successfully. Family and friends can play an important role in encouraging you to be patient and to keep trying. They can also help you experiment with various lighting, including different types and positioning, and to use the devices correctly, as you were trained to do with the low vision specialist.