Pinhole Glasses - Can You Improve Vision with Pinhole Eye Glasses?

Copyright © Rebecca Turner

Pinhole glasses allow anyone with blurry vision to see clearly - without the need for corrective lenses.

They work by blocking excessive light rays into the eye, achieving the same effect as squinting. However, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that wearing pinhole glasses for 15 minutes a day can improve your vision.

You can test the concept right now. Make a fist and put it up to one eye, with the other eye closed. Open your fist just a tiny miniscule amount, just enough to create a small hole to peep through. Amazingly, you can now see clearly!

While scientific trials are yet to prove the efficacy of pinhole glasses, I believe they are a good support to daily vision training due to relieving eye strain.

How do Pinhole Glasses Work?

Pinhole glasses are a natural vision aid that can't harm your eyesight. (In contrast, glasses and contact lenses only disguise your vision problems and can even make your vision worse over time due to the increased amount of near point stress.)

Contrary to their name, pinhole glasses are not made of glass or corrective lenses. They are simply dark plastic with holes punched through where the lens would normally be. So, how do pinhole glasses work?

The simplicity of pinhole eyeglasses is that they enable a much narrower beam of light to enter the eye. This allows the eye muscles to relax and focus the small beam of light more clearly onto the retina:

1. Myopia / Nearsightedness

Light rays enter the eye and land too far in front of the retina,
causing distant objects to appear blurry

2. Hyperopia / Farsightedness

Light rays enter the eye and land too far behind the retina,
causing close up objects to appear blurry

3. Pinhole Glasses

Fewer light rays enter the narrow pinholes and focus in parallel beams
perfectly on the retina, causing all objects to appear in focus

The only downside to pinhole glasses is they reduce your peripheral vision (so are definitely not suitable for driving) and create a "honeycomb" effect. While you can focus clearly on your intended subject, you will still have to focus through the holes. As a result, they are not a permanent vision aid - but a good support.

What Are Pinhole Glasses For?

With pinhole glasses you may be able to:

1. Prevent Computer Vision Syndrome - if you use computers a lot you will recognize the signs: eye strain, dry eyes, fatigue, headache, blurry vision and double vision. This is all down to intense near point stress. Pinhole glasses can reduce the glare from the monitor, help relax the eyes, increase depth of field, and increase your natural focusing power.

2. Relieve Eye Strain and Improve Your Vision - Nearsighted people can achieve relief from eye strain by wearing pinhole glasses. Wear them while watching TV or relaxing around the house and you will have clear long distance vision without any form of corrective lens. Some users report that wearing pinhole glasses for just 15 minutes a day can noticeably improve your vision in 4 weeks. Meanwhile, if you have farsightedness, simply read and write for 15 minutes a day with pinholes, and see if you can achieve better eyesight with this remarkably simple tool.

What Are Pinhole Glasses Like to Wear?

Most people adjust to wearing pinholes in a few minutes. You will be especially aware of the honeycomb effect at first (being aware of the holes) but this will lessen with time, eventually fading to a dark veil effect. You will also be able to enjoy clear vision instantly without the damaging effect of corrective lenses.

If you have severe nearsightedness (over -6.00 diopters) the honeycomb effect may not go away, so pinhole glasses may be too cumbersome. It is better to perform eye exercises until you reach -6.00 or less, then adopt pinhole glasses.

Pinhole eyeglasses may also help children with progressive myopia and those with special visual needs who rely too heavily on their peripheral vision. Again, this is a much cheaper option than glasses, and kids find pinholes much more fun.

Where Can I Buy Pinhole Glasses?

Pinhole glasses are only available at specialized retailers. Try Promolife, a website which sells a range of pinholes from $27.95 including free shipping in the USA (international shipping is also available). Here are their pinhole designs:

How Else Can I Improve My Eyesight?

If you are considering pinhole glasses, I also recommend you perform a daily eye exercise routine to speed up your natural vision improvement. Check out my review of Rebuild Your Vision and how it helped me cure my astigmatism and dramatically reduce my nearsightedness over a number of weeks.