If a patient has trouble seeing both near and distant objects clearly, which condition might they have?

When a patient experiences difficulty seeing both near and distant objects clearly, the condition they are likely dealing with is presbyopia. This condition is age-related and typically affects individuals over the age of 40. It occurs due to a loss of elasticity in the lens of the eye, making it harder for the eye to focus on close objects, while often causing difficulty in seeing clearly at a distance as well.

Individuals with presbyopia commonly find that they need reading glasses or bifocals to assist with near vision tasks, while they may also notice blurred vision for distance when accommodating for close work. Unlike myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, presbyopia specifically relates to the natural aging process and the lens' reduced ability to adjust its shape, which affects vision at all distances.

In contrast, myopia primarily affects distance vision, hyperopia is characterized by difficulty focusing on near objects due to a shorter eyeball or flatter cornea, and astigmatism typically results from an irregularly shaped cornea or lens, leading to blurred or distorted vision at any distance but does not inherently include the age-related decline in near vision that defines presbyopia.