OK, this is going to be a little more technical than most of you want, but here goes anyway:
I'm a high myope (VERY nearsighted) with a correction of -8.00 diopters bilaterally. I normally wear progressive lenses but as has already been pointed out numerous times, they require pointing your head when viewing anything that you want to see clearly. This isn't a deal breaker for most activities as my ophthalmologist who is also a high myope points out! Of course head-pointing isn't possible when playing an instrument that's always in a fixed position which render these progressive lenses useless when playing the tuba.
I've tried bifocals and executive lenses with limited success
vis-a-vis reading music because of blurring from ghost images caused by their abrupt lens transitions even when the near-vision portion of the lenses is set at the proper distance. Like many of you I finally settled on 'music glasses' which are currently +1 diopter weaker than the near-vision reading portion of my normal glasses. My normal bifocal/progressive reading correction is +2.75 which yields a correction of -5.25 diopters (-8.00 + 2.75). My music glasses are single vision set at -6.25 diopters. The music is clearly in focus and although the conductors are a little blurry all of their gestures are obvious.
Whoever tests your vision, optometrist of ophthalmologist, is obligated to provide you with your prescription. If they don't do so spontaneously, ask them for it. It will contain MOST of the information you need to order glasses online. The one critical piece of data that's missing is your interpupillary distance, or PD, the distance in mm between the center of your pupils. There are
ways you can do this, but it's a bit tricky.
With all this information in hand you can order your own single prescription music glasses. Generally a diopter that's around 2/3 weaker than your normal near-vision prescription could work fairly well, but it
depends on your age. Be aware that the
best correction would come from your eye doctor who can test your vision at 'music reading' distances.
This is the frame of my current 'music glasses' coupled with the highest refractive index plastic lenses they offer. The high refractive index minimizes lateral thickness and edge reflections visible to others. My cost, with a coupon, was $102. These glasses require a hard case for protection, but I already had several of those on hand.
If you go the online route, be sure to search for valid current coupons in order to obtain the very best prices. And again, PD is key!
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