You may have sat in the consulting room chair, with the lenses in front of your eyes, and wondered why the optometrist keeps asking you- is it better…. With…. Or … Without? That is the question- but why? Because, this is the fastest way of deciding on the correct power for the lens in front of each eye and working towards prescribing the power of the lenses in your final spectacles.
What’s the alternative? Maybe the question- does this make the letters look clear? Possible answers: 1. Their not bad. Answer 2. Yes, but I think the one before was better. Answer 3. No. But where does the optometrist go next?
If the optometrist gives you an open choice of answers, it’s hard for them to decide whether to change the lens already in front of you, and if so whether to increase or reduce the power, or to leave it as it is. Invariable and as boring as it is, ‘with or without’ reduces the choice for you to make and arrives at the correct lens power faster than most other options-which is better for you and better for the optometrist.
You may also hear them ask- better one.. or two.. . This is to correct any astigmatism, but that’s the subject of another blog post!