fix and fit

Slipping Eyewear …

Fitting Facts and Fiction

by Alex Yoho, ABOM

It's summer time again. That means your dispensary will soon have people stopping by to enjoy the air conditioning and to complain that their eyewear is gliding down their nose.

Fortunately, there is a solution to the problem.

FITTING FICTION

Before we get to proper techniques for creating a secure fit, let's first address some of the mistakes that inexperienced dispensers may make when adjusting and fitting slipping eyewear.

• TIGHTER PADS. The biggest fitting mistake has got to be something that the patient will usually demand for better or worse: “Make my nosepads tighter.”

This adjustment often makes sense to patients who don't understand that the nosepads simply bear the weight of the eyewear and are not there to grab the nose. Perhaps this is left over from the old pince-nez frames, but it does not apply to today's modern eyewear.

Narrowing the pads simply causes the pad position on the nose to move up because of the frontal angle, and out (that is, away from the face) because of the splay angle. The frame position follows the pad direction, which is most likely why the patient thinks the eyewear fit is improved.

Unfortunately, tightening the nosepads is not a permanent fix. The patient will return again with the same slipping eyewear problem.

• HOOK THE EARS. The second mistake that also makes sense to a patient is to bend the temples down to hook the back of the ears.

This fitting error actually can keep the eyewear from slipping, but at what expense?

This is what I term a “critical fit issue,” because even if you achieve a well-balanced fit, the slightest bump causes discomfort for the wearer.

FITTING FACTS

Now for the facts. The temples really are the key here, but it's not the ears that do the trick. Modern frames are generally supplied with skull temples, and there is a good reason for that. This doesn't mean the temples rest against the sides of the head forward from the ears. In fact, doing so will usually cause the eyewear to slip.

CREATING A WEDGE

• OPEN THE TEMPLES. The first part of the job is to open the temples to the point that they do not apply pressure in the temple area of the head. At the widest point of the head—just above the ears—the temples begin to lightly touch the head and follow the curves on the back of the head downward behind the ear.

The beauty of this is that the temples create a wedge at the mastoid area that prevents the eyewear from slipping forward. Don't get me wrong: the eyewear will eventually be pulled down the nose a slight amount due to gravity…and that hot summer weather.

• FOLLOW THE CURVE. This is why it's important that the temple bend follows the back curve of the ear—so when it encounters the back of the ear, the pressure will be spread over a greater surface area and be comfortable.

• NECK TAPER BEND. There is another wedge that will prevent the eyewear from continuing to ride up the back of the ear. I have termed it the “neck taper” bend. Since the neck is narrower than the head, this wedge will prevent the temples from rising upward.

It's all about bending. So, as the temperature rises, and frustrated patients begin to drift in the door, crank up the air conditioning and work on your bending skills. You'll be the most popular dispenser in town. EB