If you’ve been told your vision is “perfect,” yet you still see distortions like halos, glare, flares, starbursts, double vision, ghosting, or blur, you may be dealing with a vision issue called Higher-Order Aberrations (HOAs). HOAs are microscopic imperfections in the eye that affect how light travels through the eye. They can cause one or more of these unusual visual anomalies when light enters your eye from specific angles.

On the other hand, Lower-Order Aberrations (LOAs) include conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Regular glasses or conventional contact lenses are generally designed to correct these LOAs, but don’t address the more complex HOAs.

If you are just now learning about HOAs, you might wonder, “Can Higher-Order Aberrations be corrected with glasses or contacts?” And if not, what can correct these distortions?

Traditional eyeglasses are designed to properly focus light on the retina. This works well for correcting Lower-Order Aberrations such as Myopia (nearsightedness), Hyperopia (farsightedness), and Astigmatism.

But Higher-Order Aberrations are usually asymmetrical, irregular and complex. These distortions affect how light travels through particular paths through your eye in highly complex patterns, and can result in distorted points of light such as ghosting (coma), starburst patterns or glare (trefoil), and hazy or blurry vision (spherical aberration),

Even the most advanced prescription glasses cannot account for these microscopic, high-frequency errors. That’s because:

• Glasses (spectacles) don’t move with your eyes. Higher-Order Aberrations occur on specific paths of light through your eyes, so correction must stay aligned with your visual axis.
• Glasses are limited to basic corrections. Glasses are designed to address Lower-Order Aberration issues, such as nearsightedness and astigmatism, rather than the complex shapes and precision required to correct higher-order aberrations (HOAs).

So, can Higher-Order Aberrations be corrected with glasses?

Unfortunately, no. Glasses may get you from 20/50 to 20/20 (improved visual acuity), but glasses cannot address the halos, glare, flares, starbursts, double vision, ghosting, and blur caused by HOAs.

Contact lenses may seem like a better solution because they rest on and move with your eye. However, even conventional contacts fall short when it comes to correcting Higher-Order Aberrations. Here’s why: they still rotate and shift with each blink, and this movement makes HOA correction ineffective and can cause even worse vision. Scleral lenses, which are larger and vault over the cornea, offer far greater stability when fitted properly by experienced practitioners. This stability makes them an ideal platform for HOA correction, but without custom HOA optics, many patients are still left with bothersome vision distortions.

So, can Higher-Order Aberrations be corrected with contact lenses?

Again, the answer is generally no. Conventional contact lenses cannot effectively correct HOAs.

The most effective solution for HOAs is custom HOA-correcting scleral lenses, specifically Ovitz-Added Lenses, which are wavefront-guided scleral lenses. Here’s how these lenses work:

Detection and Mapping with the xwave Aberrometer

Qualified eye care providers (Ovitz-Authorized Doctors) use the OVITZ xwave aberrometer to capture a highly detailed “wavefront map” of how light travels through your eye. This scan identifies microscopic aberrations in the path of light, all the way through the eye.

Lens Design with AI-Powered Optimization

Next, the wavefront data is processed by OVITZ’s professional optics team, backed by their AI engine and the world’s most extensive library of HOA correction outcomes. This allows creating a custom optical profile tailored to your eye’s unique distortions.

Custom Scleral Lenses Built for Your Vision

Custom Higher-Order Aberration correction optics are embedded directly into your scleral lens by the contact lens lab, creating an Ovitz-Added Lens.

Patients using Ovitz-Added Lenses often describe the experience as “seeing in HD” for the first time. Even those who technically have 20/20 vision on a chart frequently report noticeably sharper vision, with reduced halos, glare, ghosting, and double vision.

Only OVITZ-Authorized Doctors can offer this technology. These eye care professionals are trained to use the xwave system and partner with OVITZ’s optical engineers to deliver optimal outcomes. If your optometrist doesn’t yet offer HOA correction, you can request a referral or visit our doctor locator to find a provider near you.

No, glasses and conventional contact lenses cannot effectively correct Higher-Order Aberrations. Traditional vision correction methods fail to address the complex distortions caused by these advanced aberrations. But with custom HOA-correcting scleral lenses powered by OVITZ technology, patients can finally experience life with clearer vision.

If you’ve ever been told your vision is “normal,” but it still feels off to you, it’s time to ask your doctor about Higher-Order Aberrations and Ovitz-Added Lenses.