Myths about pinhole glasses

Myths about pinhole glasses

Pinhole glasses, also known as stenopeic glasses, are eyeglasses with a series of pinhole-sized perforations(hence the name pinhole glasses) on opaque plastic instead of lens. Each hole allows only a very narrow beam of light to enter the eye, which reduces the size of sphere of blurredness on the retina and increases the intensity of field, resulting in enlarged clarity and reduces strain on eyes.

The pinholes - accurately formed by laser technology - allow only direct and consistent light rays (through the pinhole eye glasses) to pass through into the eye, and thus effectively reduce the aperture of the pupil. The narrow beam casts a smaller blur circle on the retina, improving vision.

Although pinhole glasses score much more over prescription glasses, but still it is not widely popular among the masses. This is because of certain myths attached with the use of these glasses.

One common myth that needs to be cleared is that pinhole glasses are not functional, because of their honeycombing effect. When a user wears pinhole glasses for the first time, it is quite natural for him to feel some kind of discomfort and problem visualizing because of the presence of the plastic material. The Pinhole eyeglasses wearer becomes consciously aware of the series of "open" pinholes and the opaque material between the holes, and tries to focus his eyes more on the opaque occluding plastic, making him 'see' the pinholes rather than the visuals transmitted through the pinholes. In reality, this is not so. It is true that a person might take some time to adjust to new glasses, but visual clarity is much more in pinholes. Honeycombing does become a problem at a higher refractive error index; and those with a refractive error of 6 diopters or more may find pinhole glasses impractical because of a continuous honeycombing effect.

The occurrence of double images is another issue that has stopped people from using a pair of pinhole glasses. Double images occur because light rays entering the minute perforation of a pinhole is slightly bent around the corner of the pinhole. This phenomenon is known as diffraction effect, and normally happens to all light rays when they pass close to the edge of an object or opening. In pinhole glasses, what we see is the equalizing image through more than one pinhole, giving rise to an apparent double image. For those with a low refractive index, this diffraction phenomenon is hardly noticeable, however, as the refractive error increases (6 diopters or more), the double image becomes more pronounced. It is only a matter of time before the eye gets used to it.

As with any new pair of glasses, new pinhole glasses will also take a little time getting used to. You need not be consciously aware of your new lenses and frames when wearing them for the first time, as gradually the brain gets used to the receiving visuals.


Application of pinhole effect for spectacles is a boon for those suffering from myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism, as pinhole glasses prove to bring in remarkable improvement in vision naturally.