In the Fight Against Myopia, Stigma Is Scarier Than Rising Prescriptions

As a frontline teacher with over a decade of experience helping deaf and hard-of-hearing kids with hearing rehabilitation, I’ve told my students’ parents countless times: “When a child wears hearing aids or a cochlear implant, it’s no different from us wearing glasses. Both are just ordinary assistive devices. We shouldn’t treat these kids differently—we need to truly accept that our child has a hearing difference.” But one parent replied, “You don’t have a kid like this—you’ll never really get how I feel.” I froze. It’s true: You can’t fully empathize until you walk in someone’s shoes. It wasn’t until my own child started wearing glasses that I realized—what many parents struggle to accept isn’t just their child’s condition, but the crushing weight of stigma.

My Wake-Up Call—When My Kid Wore Glasses and Faced Judgment

The second my child put on glasses, every time we went out, strangers would point at their little frames and say:

“He’s so young and already in glasses—must be on his phone too much, right?”

“Watching too much TV ruined his eyes, I bet.”

I didn’t understand the pain those hearing-impaired kids’ parents felt until I faced that judgment myself.

Those thoughtless, off-the-cuff comments leave no space for the truth. We don’t even own a TV, and my kid has never had unrestricted phone time. Every week, we spend a full day outdoors, hiking or playing in parks—connecting with nature, not screens. Yet a child raised this way still ended up nearsighted.

Strangers have never stepped foot in our home, never spent a minute with my kid—but they act like they know exactly what “caused” his myopia. They jump to conclusions without a single fact. That’s stigma in action: an invisible force that clouds judgment and turns casual observers into critics.

Myopia Stigma Isn’t Unique—It’s Part of a Bigger Problem

The same unfair assumptions plague the deaf and hard-of-hearing kids in my class:

A genetic hearing difference gets twisted into “bad luck from past generations.”

A congenital condition gets blamed on “something the mom did wrong during pregnancy.”

People say these cruel things without a second thought. We spend so much time teaching parents to fight against stigma for hearing differences—yet we let that same stigma fester when it comes to myopia.

I finally get it now: All the well-meaning explanations in the world can’t stand up to a thoughtless line like, “It must be because you let him use screens too much.”

Deep down, we often build invisible walls of stigma—walls that shut out anyone who seems “different.” These biases come from stereotypes, hearsay, or fear of the unknown. When we see someone who doesn’t fit our “normal,” our first reaction is to resist, not accept; to doubt, not understand.

How to Break the Stigma—One Kind Comment at a Time

Stigma thrives when we stay silent, but it crumbles when we choose empathy. Here’s how we can start:

Ditch assumptions about myopia: Myopia has complex causes—genetics, normal eye development changes, or heavy academic workloads (think endless homework, not just screens). You don’t know a family’s story, so don’t guess.

Reframe how we talk about assistive devices: Glasses, hearing aids, cochlear implants—they’re not “signs of a problem.” They’re tools that help kids thrive. Instead of pointing out what’s “different,” celebrate what these tools enable: clear vision, the ability to hear a friend’s laugh.

Speak up with kindness: Next time you see a kid in glasses, kneel down and say something like, “Those frames look cool—do you see rainbows in the lenses sometimes?” When you meet a child with a cochlear implant, smile and say, “That’s your special ear—does it help you hear your favorite songs?”

We don’t need grand gestures to fight stigma. We just need to stop building walls with doubt and start building bridges with understanding. When we do that, the divides created by prejudice will fade—and we’ll see each other not for our “differences,” but for who we really are.

Final Thought—Stigma Hurts More Than Myopia Itself

Rising myopia rates are a public health concern, but stigma is a human one. It makes parents feel like failures, kids feel self-conscious, and communities grow more divided.

But stigma isn’t permanent. It lives in the spaces between ignorance and empathy—and we can choose to fill those spaces with kindness. The next time you’re tempted to judge a child (or adult) for wearing glasses, hearing aids, or any assistive device—pause. Remember: You don’t know their story. But you can choose to be part of a better one—one where difference is celebrated, not criticized.