An Easy Way to Test the Combine Eyewear Concept Without Cost
If you are an ophthalmologist or optician with both distance and near vision defects and, of course, use two pairs of glasses or progressive lenses for both distances, simply try the following:
Using your single-vision distance or progressive glasses specifically adjusted for optimal distance-near sharpness, look straight at a desktop or laptop screen at arm’s length (according to your own needs) as a mid-distance vision criterion. Under normal circumstances, when you look from the middle located distance focal point of your current glasses, you cannot see the small text and details on the screen perfectly. If you can see them, it means you are not very old and still have some accommodative power left. Theoretically and practically, no progressive lens can clearly show an intermediate distance through the exact center of the lens in an individual who has no residual accommodative power. If you’re a bit older and your glasses are progressive, tilting your head slightly backward and looking just below the center point (to add a little addition), or lifting the glasses slightly with one hand to look through the intermediate addition area, as some patients do, may provide clearer vision. In my opinion, these are tedious, tiring and not practical or ergonomic compared to looking straight ahead. If you are not uncomfortable with it, you may continue using progressive glasses this way.
If, like me, you are seeking full clarity and comfort by looking straight at the screen due to environmental conditions, take uncut (+) spherical lenses (easily found at an optician) with a power about half of your normal near addition. Bring them close to your existing lenses for both eyes using your hands (as they would be when clipped), and gradually reduce the spherical value until you achieve pleasing clarity on the screen. Depending on your age, a value between (+) 0.50 and (+) 1.25 lenses usually brings satisfaction. To compensate for possible inappropriate correction in the main frame lenses, test the right and left eyes separately. The difference between these clip-on lenses can also compensate for the spherical defects in your main glasses. We are not claiming this as our invention. With the simple optical-physical rule we use in eye examinations, we determine an additional measurement (addition) value for needs such as using a computer screen at a distance of 70 cm, for presbyopic textile garment workers at the some sewing machine distances, or reading supermarket labels instead of just the near reading distance. Our aim is to integrate this solution into our and our patients’ daily lives in an aesthetically pleasing way. This will be an innovation.
Achieving clarity in the test we mentioned above demonstrates what level of clarity the clip-on frame will provide at intermediate distance. If you are satisfied, you can apply the clip-on frame method, which we call “Combine Eyewear,” first for yourself and then for your patients, to achieve mid-distance visual clarity. We are not claiming a new discovery with this concept, but we can say it is a very efficient method with a simple principle, perhaps underestimated, yet unused in our daily professional life.
I have been applying this method on my high-quality progressive glasses for years — the comfort and joy are indescribable. That’s why I’ve been striving to share this topic for years. If I didn’t fully believe in the concept, I wouldn’t have put in this much effort.
You can determine the (+) spherical lens value (lower than the normal near reading (+) addition value) for the clip-on according to your or your patient’s needs — based on a 70 cm exam distance, for example — and note this value on the optical paper prescription along with the distance-near values. In this context, considering the increasing need for intermediate visual solutions in presbyopic patients, I suggest that space be allocated for a specific intermediate distance (such as 70 cm) addition value in future optical prescription formats.
Clip-on frames usually come with two clips with different filters instead of lenses, and (+) spherical lenses are mounted on one or both clips for the required distance(s). Using lenses with the same value in both clips can eliminate carrying issues.
In case the optician lacks knowledge or experience on the subject, I include application details (without brand names) including the frame, in my prescriptions. You can correspond with me regarding these details. If the practice becomes widespread — which I strongly hope it will one day — and opticians gain experience, there will no longer be a need to include too many details in the prescription.
Although not perfect, the market offers many clip-on glasses frame brands, models, and even lenses thinned up to 30–65 % when necessary (not needed for low base prescriptions), which are sufficient for our needs.
If you are an ophthalmologist, while examining a potential patient for distance-near glasses, inquire about their profession and daily life, and whether they require medium-distance vision; ask if they use desktop computers and whether they have difficulty reading market labels. Depending on the need, explaining the situation to your patients—either by using your own glasses as a “Combined Glasses” user or even with a very inexpensive clip-on frame sample—will be efficient and persuasive. You may need to spend an extra 4–5 minutes for your patient to fully understand the concept. These explanations may attract interest in private clinics. Even in a very busy hospital setting, I believe this won’t disrupt your workflow, as the number of patients needing this type of consultation won’t be very high. Our optician colleagues can also easily try the above procedures. There is no financial cost to perform the non-mounted test on existing monofocal distance or progressive glasses as described above. Give it a try — you have nothing to lose. But the experience gained from it is priceless.
About a year ago, I had cataract surgery in one eye, which had 0.8 vision at the time; the refraction dropped to -1.5 D, but I was able to regain my previous comfort in desktop and laptop use only by using a suitable clip-on (+1 D) over my new high-quality progressive glasses.
If you’ve read this long letter up to this point, I am truly grateful. I hope to share more in the future. If there are any unclear points or mistakes, I would appreciate your feedback. What I expect from you are your criticisms, comments, contributions, or questions — even if brief or simple, whether positive or negative. Please feedback. This call is not a patent presentation or a commercial campaign; it is an invitation to professional collaboration. With your contributions, I aim to present an academic publication and contribute to the literature, and I am looking for collaborators, even if from afar. A multi-centered study will be very valuable. You can contact me via email. You can also contact me via WhatsApp. If you request a copy of the initial video via email or whatsapp, I can also send it through WhatsApp.
Dear ophthalmologist colleagues and optician friends, if this concept has interested you, I kindly ask you to share my website “www.amansees.com” with any friends or colleagues who may be interested. If you prefer quick communication, please send me your mobile number so I can create a WhatsApp group. Physicians and opticians are free to use the concept and its name on a personal basis. I expect them to cite our address Amansees.com as a source. Together, we can achieve great outcomes both for ourselves and our potential patients. Who shall carry this concept into the distant future? The ophthalmologists? The opticians? Both? or shall it be mine alone to bear? My only claim is that this is not a fantasy, but a lived reality.
Let me end with this: Our first priority is patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction will be a reference and feedback source for physicians and opticians.
Stay well.
Dr. Ercan Mensiz
Ophthalmologist
Kapaklı/Tekirdağ/Türkiye
emensiz@amansees.com
emensiz@gmail.com
www.amansees.com
© 2022 Ercan Mensiz MD, Updated June 2025