More than half of potential patients have admitted putting off their eye exam for up to five years while others admit having never even been for one.
Simplyhealth Advisory Research Panel (ShARP) interviewed 1,000 people aged 40-75 about their vision and attitudes to eye checks. The panel found 8 per cent of people had never visited an optical practice, while one in seven were driving with substandard vision.
In total, 41 per cent of those surveyed had noticed deterioration in their vision but had done nothing about it. A third of the participants struggled to make out a menu or a sign, while one in five asked someone else to read it and one in eight borrowed someone else’s glasses.
Despite the majority dodging a visit to their optometrist, most recognised opticians could diagnose serious problems and wider health conditions such as diabetes, according to ShARP.
One in 10 believed failing vision was an inevitable part of ageing, while one in eight said they were put off by worries about the cost.
GP and ShARP member Dr Gill Jenkins said: ‘When I look at this data of great concern as a GP is the fact that 99 per cent of respondents in the ShARP research failed to identify the most common cause of blindness in the UK – age-related macular degeneration. And only a third [31 per cent] knew what the condition was. This has serious implications as early diagnosis can slow loss of sight. In the case of wet AMD the sooner treatment is started, the greater the chance it will work.’