Setting the Record Straight on Eye Health

I am so tired of misleading information being published. So I’m going to start debunking it and reminding people of the real facts—especially when it comes to your eyes.

Recently, I came across an alarming post by a so-called “Doctor” claiming that wearing prescription glasses causes your eye muscles to shut down due to “oxygen starvation.” Not only that but according to him, each stronger prescription is like tightening a noose around your vision, creating dependency and accelerating vision loss.

Let me be very clear: Publishing this information is flat out wrong. This is not just wrong—it’s dangerous.  So let’s set the record straight.

Glasses correct your vision. They don’t weaken your eyes. They don’t “choke” your eye muscles. And they certainly aren’t part of a shadowy industry plot.

Your eyes change naturally—especially during childhood or as you age. That’s why prescriptions evolve. Blaming glasses is like blaming thermometers for fevers.

Scare tactics like these are designed to sell fake “cures” or miracle exercises that have no basis in medical science. If you have eye problems, visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist.

At Hook Optics and An Optical Galleria, we stand for truth, clarity, and integrity. We’ve spent decades helping patients protect their vision with advanced optics, premium lenses, and honest, personalized care. We don’t want you to fall for myths. Choose science. Choose clarity.

The Myth: Glasses Make Your Eyes Worse

You’ve probably heard it before: “The more you wear glasses, the more dependent your eyes become.” But this myth has been thoroughly debunked by decades of optical science and real-world patient care.

The Real Facts:

• Glasses do not weaken your eyes.
  They correct how light enters the eye. They don’t damage muscles or reduce your ability to focus naturally. In fact, they prevent you from squinting, straining, and getting headaches from blurry vision.
• Eye muscles don’t shut down.
  Your extraocular muscles remain active whether you wear glasses or not. And your ciliary muscle—the one that helps focus on near objects—continues working all day, every day.
• Your prescription changes naturally.
  Especially with age. This is called presbyopia, and it happens to everyone.

The Science: Why We All Need Reading Glasses Eventually

As we age—typically beginning around age 40—the crystalline lens inside your eye becomes less flexible. This flexibility is essential for your eye to shift focus from far to near, a process known as accommodation.

Your ciliary muscle controls that focus by changing the shape of the lens. Over time, even if the muscle is working fine, the lens itself stiffens—making close-up tasks like reading more difficult.

This condition is called presbyopia, and it’s 100% normal. We've had patients tell us that one morning they woke up and literally could not see to read. However, personally for both Bob and I, the decline was much more gradual. 

Back to my point! In other words: You’re not getting addicted to glasses. You’re adapting to a natural part of aging. Yes, aging sucks in many ways. 

Here’s what the science says:

• Studies published in the American Academy of Ophthalmology confirm that lens elasticity decreases with age, not due to lack of oxygen or wearing glasses.
• Presbyopia is found worldwide, even in cultures where glasses aren’t commonly worn—proving it’s not caused by eyewear.

What About Eye Strain, Headaches, or Blurry Vision?

These symptoms are real—but not caused by “stronger prescriptions.” In most cases, when pertaining to your eyes, they’re due to:

• Uncorrected or outdated prescriptions
• Long hours of screen time (digital eye strain)
• Dry eye
• Inadequate lighting
• Fatigue

An eye exam and properly fitted lenses often reduce or eliminate these symptoms—not cause them.

What’s Really Going On?

Claims like “oxygen-starved eye muscles” or “Big Optical’s conspiracy” due to wearing glasses are just fear-based marketing. They’re designed to sell you an alternative product—often unproven and unregulated—by making you doubt real medical care while implementing scare tactics to make you believe there is a miracle cure. If there was, we would be shouting it out to all our patients and using it ourselves! However, you can deplete your cornea's of oxygen by over wearing your contact lenses, which is different than your eye muscles, this is called corneal hypoxia. We are constantly lecturing warning people about this. We will say it again, PLEASE quit over wearing your contact lenses. 

At Hook Optics and An Optical Galleria, we don’t deal in scare tactics and we are certainly not "BIG Optical". We are a family business that cares. We deal in decades of optical expertise, precision craftsmanship, and clinical truth. Now here's a fact that everyone should know: 

Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light increases your risk of developing cataracts.

According to the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, UV radiation can damage the proteins in the eye's natural lens, causing it to become cloudy over time—a condition known as cataracts.

But there’s good news:
Wearing high-quality sunglasses, like Hook Optics, that block 100% of UVA and UVB rays can help slow the onset of cataracts and protect your long-term vision.

You see, we don’t just make sunglasses—we engineer precision eyewear with state-of-the-art lenses that offer:

• Full-spectrum UV protection

• Advanced polarization

• Enhanced clarity designed for outdoor and ocean environments

Whether you’re on the water, on the road, or on the move, Hook Optics protects your eyes while helping you see the world in crisp, vibrant detail.

Our Promise to You

We’ve been making glasses and helping people see clearly for over 40 years. We don’t believe in selling false hope—we believe in giving you the right tools, the right lenses, and the right care to protect and enhance your vision.

So the next time someone tries to scare you away from your glasses, remember this:

Your vision doesn’t weaken because of glasses. It changes because your eyes—like every part of the body—age. That’s not a problem. That’s life. Accept it and embrace the wisdom that comes with age. 

Please do your own research before you jump in to believing what you read these days, in all aspects of life. 

Choose science. Choose clarity. Feel free to choose vision without limits. This is what Hook Optics is about.