More than 5 per cent of Queenslanders over 40 have never had an eye test and more than a quarter are experiencing distance vision problems that they haven't had checked out, according to new research commissioned by Specsavers.
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Both of these statistics are the worst in the country and Queensland is also sitting above the national average in several other categories.
The research shows 6 per cent of Queenslanders over 40 have not had an eye test, the highest in the country and double the national average, with the most common excuse being that people didn't believe there was anything wrong with their eyes.
A third of Queenslanders over 40 have experienced close-up vision problems they haven’t reported, which is again higher than the national average, and 26 per cent have experienced distance vision problems that they haven’t told an optometrist about, also the highest in the country.
Specsavers Runaway Bay (Gold Coast) optometrist director Simon Kelly said there was no excuse and couldn't understand why people wouldn't get their eyes checked.
"I'm not surprised people over 40 have eye problems, but the key thing for me is the fact that they are not getting something done about it straight away," he said.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders who haven't had an eye test, and a lot of the time they have distance vision problems, which affects their driving.
"That is compelling to me, especially when we live in a society where these things are so accessible from a range of different providers."
Mr Kelly said eye conditions did not always have noticeable symptoms.
"Some conditions you will see symptoms and some you don’t, more often than not people have no idea they have a condition," he said.
"The most common conditions are refraction and focus problems with the eyes, cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
Mr Kelly said a man in his 40s had come in for his first eye test last year after noticing his vision in one eye was blurry. He was diagnosed with melanoma in that eye and although his vision in that eye couldn't be saved, surgeons managed to save his life and vision in the other eye.
Mr Kelly said another woman in her 40s was found to have glaucoma on her first eye check and vision in only one of her eyes could be saved. She has had an annual eye check ever since.
On a national level, the Specsavers research found that 63 per cent of Australians over 40 had experienced some sort of problem with their eyesight that they hadn't had checked.
The most common excuses across the country for delaying an eye check were a lack of time, cost concerns and people thinking there was nothing wrong with their eyesight.
