Over the years glasses have managed to perform a number of functions that the average spec wearer may be surprised about. If even 3D sounds a bit space age, then prepare to be surprised at the thrilling James Bond type gadgets that your glasses could incorporate….

You may already know that you can have specs that treat your ailing ears as well as eyes. These nifty little gadgets have fashionably chunky sides that house a hearing aid. This only treats certain types of hearing loss, and has caused heart failure for many an optician, attempting to make adjustments on a very expensive and fragile piece of equipment!

Your frames can also help with a couple of medical conditions. Ptosis causes eyelids to droop down, and holding your lids up all day so you can see becomes tiresome and pretty inconvenient. Ptosis props are slim metal wires that attach to the frame and hook under the lids to hold them in place. This can be life changing for the patient. They can also hold facial prosthesis, for patients who have had tissue removed due to cancer, or injury. The prosthesis is attached to the specs or built around them to give support.

For the gadget lovers amongst you Oakley created a range of sunglasses with an MP3 player built into the side of the specs, perfect for cyclists and runners who can have music as they exercise without the bother of carrying their MP3. They also developed a Bluetooth attachment on their sunnies as an earpiece for your mobile phone – very Mission Impossible!

This year we move on a stage further, with the first electronic version of a varifocal lens. The lens blends optics with gadgetry – a sure fire winner with all the boys around the office! The electrics allow the wearer to focus at any distance in an instance, with a cunning blend of electrics, chemistry and the magic of optics. The theory is that they will give the wearer a wider field of view than in any varifocal, with less distortion.

So nothing ever stays still, and 2010 looks to be an exciting year for new advances. Now we just need some specs that move so you can’t sit on them, lenses that never scratch, contact lenses that shout at you if you put them in the wrong eye…..