How often should adults get an eye test? A guide by decade

Most Filipino adults get an eye test when something forces the issue. A licence renewal, a pre-employment medical, or vision that has finally got bad enough to be annoying.

That approach works until it does not. Several of the conditions worth catching early cause no symptoms at all in their early stages, which means the moment you notice something is not the moment to start looking. Here is a realistic schedule.

Your 20s and 30s: every two years

If you have no symptoms, no prescription and no risk factors, every two years is reasonable. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, make it annual, because a prescription that has drifted makes you work harder without you realising it.

One thing specific to this age group in the Philippines: if you work in a BPO, in tech, in finance, or anywhere that means eight to ten hours on a screen, go annually regardless. Screen-heavy work does not damage your eyes, but it does make a small uncorrected error much more uncomfortable, and it surfaces binocular vision issues that a lighter workload would hide.

Your 40s: every one to two years, and expect a change

This is the decade when near vision changes for nearly everyone. Presbyopia arrives because the lens inside the eye becomes less flexible, so focusing up close gets harder. It is not a disease and it is not avoidable.

The signs are recognisable: holding your phone further away, needing more light to read, small print going soft at the end of the day, and menus in dim restaurants becoming a problem. Most people notice it somewhere between 40 and 48.

Go annually from 40. Presbyopia progresses steadily for a decade or so, so a prescription that is right this year will be slightly behind next year.

Your 50s: annual

Annual is the standard from here. Presbyopia is still progressing, and the risk of several age-related eye conditions begins rising.

This is also the decade when a lot of people who have never worn glasses need them for the first time and put it off for a year or two. The vision they are tolerating in the meantime is usually worse than they would admit.

Your 60s and beyond: annual, without exception

Annual, and worth putting in the calendar as a recurring appointment rather than something you remember. Cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration all become more likely with age, and glaucoma in particular typically causes no early symptoms.

Waiting for a symptom is the wrong strategy specifically because the conditions that matter most here are the quiet ones.

What shortens the interval regardless of age

Go annually, or sooner if advised, if any of these apply:

• Diabetes. The retina needs regular checking regardless of how good your vision feels. This is not optional and the interval is set by your doctor.
• High blood pressure. It shows up in the blood vessels at the back of the eye.
• Family history of glaucoma, macular degeneration or retinal problems.
• A strong prescription, particularly high myopia.
• Long-term medication that requires eye monitoring. Ask your prescriber whether yours does.
• Previous eye surgery or injury.
• Contact lens wear. Lens wearers need their eye surface checked, not just their grade measured.

When not to wait for your next scheduled test

Book urgently for sudden vision loss in one eye, a shadow or curtain across part of your vision, a sudden increase in floaters or new flashes of light, eye pain with redness, new double vision, or a rapid change in vision over days rather than months. None of these are wait-and-see symptoms.

Why the interval matters more than the appointment feels like it does

An eye test is doing two jobs at once. One is measuring your prescription, which is the part everyone knows about. The other is examining eye health, and that is the part that justifies going when your vision seems fine.

The measurement part fails gradually and obviously. The health part fails silently. That asymmetry is the entire argument for a schedule rather than a trigger.

Book it, and put the next one in the calendar

Book a Vision7 eye test at your nearest Vision Express store. Our seven-step exam covers both jobs: case history, visual acuity, objective and subjective refraction, a binocular assessment of how your eyes work together, a visual health examination, and a management plan. You leave knowing your prescription and knowing what your eyes look like, not just one of the two.

If reading has started getting harder and you are in your 40s or beyond, ask for Essilor Varilux Comfort Max at the counter. It is one of the easier progressives to adapt to, which matters most for a first pair, and it gives you distance, mid-range and reading in a single lens instead of a pair you take on and off all day. Made in France, three to five days.

If your day is mostly a desk and two monitors, ask about Shamir Autograph Intelligence instead, for a wider intermediate zone, and ask the team about a dedicated indoor pair.

Every pair includes free lifetime ultrasonic cleaning, free lifetime custom fitting and adjustment, and a one-year warranty.