Long-Sightedness vs Short-Sightedness

Describes which is clearer to see.

Feature	Long-Sightedness	Short-Sightedness
Medical Term	Hyperopia	Myopia
Think of it as…	Hyper == “over”. I can see distant objects are more clear than near ones	== “to shut the eyes”. Literally squinting to see distant objects. I can see near objects clearer.
Meaning	Difficulty seeing near objects clearly; distant objects are clearer	Difficulty seeing distant objects clearly; near objects are clearer
Cause	Eyeball too short or cornea too flat → light focuses behind the retina	Eyeball too long or cornea too curved → light focuses in front of the retina
Corrective Lens Type	Convex lens (converging)	Concave lens (diverging)
Lens Shape	Thicker in the middle	Thinner in the middle
Effect of Lens	Moves focal point forward onto the retina	Moves focal point backward onto the retina
Common Symptoms	Eye strain, headaches, blurry near vision	Squinting, blurry distance vision, headaches
Typical Onset	Often hereditary, may worsen with age	Often develops in childhood or adolescence
Lens Prescription	Positive numbers	Negative numbers