The most common form of vision loss in Australia at any age is refractive error, which is easily detected with regular eye tests and corrected by wearing correctly tailored glasses, contact lenses or laser surgery, as well as low vision aids if your vision can no longer be improved.
If anyone in your immediate family suffers from refractive error or if you are over 40 then you have an increased risk of suffering refractive error yourself.
There are 4 types of refractive error:
Long sightedness or hyperopia where you have trouble seeing things close to you,
Short sightedness or myopia where things off in the distance are hard to see,
Astigmatism or blurred vision,
Age Focus Difficulties or presbyopia, if you are over 40 and you are having trouble seeing objects close up.