If you are nearsighted, you have trouble seeing things in the distance. Faraway objects look blurry and out of focus. You may have trouble clearly seeing images or words on a blackboard, movie screen, or television. But you can see things near you, close to your face.

Most nearsightedness is caused by a natural change in the shape of the eyeball that makes the eyeball oval (egg-shaped) rather than round. This causes light rays that enter the eye to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it.

Eyeglasses or contact lenses can help correct nearsightedness. Several types of surgery can also be done to reduce or fix nearsightedness.