At the most basic level, color blind glasses are a wearable accessory that consists of a frame and a pair of lenses. And yet, the price of glasses can range from as low as $30 to into the hundreds. Why is that the case? There are multiple factors including where and how the glasses are made, the materials used in the frame and lenses, included intellectual property such as branding or patents, and extra customizations such as prescriptions or advanced technology in the frame or lenses.
Color blind glasses are a type of functional lens technology that is intended to assist the wearer with seeing colors. Generally it is understood that these glasses do not cure color blindness, but can provide color vision assistance in some cases. However, not all color blind glasses work the same way nor produce the same results. The prices are similarly highly variable, depending on the type of glasses and brand. We list each type of color blind glasses below, and discuss the factors affecting their cost and performance.
1) Color Enhancement Lenses - Pricy but Good
The first category are color enhancement lenses, which is the main approach used by the current market leading brand of color blind glasses. The price of these eyewear starts at approximately $200 and can go to over $500 with add-ons such as improved frame materials and prescription lens customization. These lenses use an advanced optical material that is able to precisely filter out specific wavelengths of light that contribute more to dulling of color perception, while letting through other wavelengths of light that enable perception of a greater purity of color. The glasses can work extremely well, but not for all cases. Notably, the color enhancement technology does not work for people with so-called dichromatic color vision, a condition where all differences between red and green colors are essentially invisible. Types of dichromatic color vision include deuteranopia and protanopia. An additional drawback that should be considered is that the sunglass lens version generally works the best, with reduced intensity of enhancement in the indoor lens version.
2) Tinted Lenses - Low to Medium Cost, Medium Performance
The first category are color tinted lenses. The price of these eyewear is can range between $30 to $90 and are available from a dozen or so "generic" brands originating from China. These lenses use a red or purple color tint that re-balances the spectrum to enhance mainly red colors. In the more expensive versions the red color tint is partially hidden behind a mirrored outer lens surface, however the mirrored surface is only for aesthetic purposes and does not improve the performance of the glasses. This type of glasses are most effective for people who suffer from red-weakness, which is also called protanomaly, a condition where the brightness of red colors appears somewhat diminished. By making red colors brighter, it can be easier to see something like a red flower against a background of green leaves. However, due to the tinting of the lens, the enhancement of red colors comes at the cost of dulling the intensity of green colors. In addition, similar to the color enhancement lenses discussed above, color tinted glasses do not work for cases of dichromatic color vision which include the strongest types of color blindness deuteranopia and protanopia. Regardless, many people report that the glasses work well enough and are satisfied.
3) Polarized Color Blind Glasses for Screens - Medium Cost, Special Purpose Application
Next we have the newest entrant to the category: polarized color blind glasses for screens, pioneered by our own VIOSENSE Polarized brand. The price of the glasses ranges between $65 to $85 with additional costs for prescription add-ons yet to be determined. These glasses do not use tints or dyes like the others, but rather uses wavelength-selective polarization to create a new type of eyewear that interacts specifically with the polarized light emitted by digital display screens such as computer screens, mobile phones and tablets. Unlike the others, these glasses do not function as general purpose sunglasses or indoor glasses, but rather are specifically built only for viewing digital media. Furthermore, the polarization technology enables a different kind of light filtering that provides the color vision assistance via the phenomenon of binocular rivalry. Because of this difference, the glasses do not require residual color vision to operate and therefore are able to work for dichromats including cases of deuteranopia and protanopia.
4) Color Blind Contact Lenses - High Cost, Limited Utility
While technically not considered "glasses", contact lenses do fall into the larger eyewear category and are another delivery mechanism for color blind assistive lenses. The upside of color blind contact lenses is that they can often be used to pass a color vision test, because (similar to the polarized color blind glasses discussed above), these lenses leverage the phenomenon of binocular rivalry to deliver a non-color dependent visual cue. However, the good news stops there: color blind contact lenses are an older technology dating back to the 1970s and are made by hand-tinting a contact lens with a color tint. Because these lenses are not mass produced and require a doctor's prescription to dispense, the cost can be very high and may range between $500 to potentially in the thousands. In addition to the high cost, another drawback of these lenses is that they are not available in the sophisticated ultra-comfortable daily or weekly hydrogel materials and rather are provided only in yearly replacement type materials which have generally low wearing comfort and low oxygen permeability. In addition, due to risk of infection and contamination, contact lenses require special handling to insert, remove and store. For these reasons, color blind contact lenses have thus far failed to achieve widespread market adoption.
In Summary - How to Choose the Best Color Blind Glasses
The choice of the best color blind glasses is an individual decision that depends on a person's anticipated needs for the glasses, lifestyle preferences and budget. The first step is to consider the type and extent of color blindness of the person. This can be measured using a color vision test, or can be estimated by thinking back on life experiences and reflecting as to wether color vision seems to be a minor issue (suggesting a mild or moderate color vision deficiency) or is a significant issue (suggest a strong color blindness is likely). Next, consider when and where the glasses will be used, such as outdoors as sunglasses, or indoors, or while doing specific activities such as using a computer, watching movies or gaming where the activity-specific VIOSENSE lenses are designed to work best. Finally, the issue of budget must be considered. If the budget is extremely tight, consider trying one of the lowest cost generic brands that can be found, and purchase them from a supplier that supports easy returns. If budget is a non-issue and the expected use is mainly outdoors as sunglasses, then check out the top of the line for the most enriching experience.