When you come to the stage in life that you need help to see things up close in addition to whatever it takes to see clearly in the distance, there are many options for correcting your vision.  The options are very customizable to fit your personal needs.  Here are two basic options explained...

Monovision is the setup where we fix one eye for seeing in the distance (usually the dominant eye) and the other eye for seeing at near.  We usually do this with contact lenses, but it can be accomplished with any other modality, including surgery.  As strange as it may sound, it is quite well accepted by the visual system.  The advantage to monovision is that it is convenient.  The disadvantage is that the brain prefers the eyes to see together.  People who use monovision usually notice a little reduction in depth perception and are less comfortable driving in the dark.

Bifocals (or multi focals) have the advantage of allowing the eyes to see together for distance and near which improves the vision in a synergistic way.  Multifocal vision can be accomplished with contact lenses, glasses, and lens replacement surgery.  Bifocal contact lenses and surgical implants can work well, but are a little more finicky--sometimes reducing the patients contrast sensitivity (or ability to distinguish shades of gray.)  Bifocal glasses tend to give the cleanest vision overall, and are available with and without lines.

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