Which term refers to hyperopia that cannot be overcome by accommodation?

• A. Manifest hyperopia
• B. Absolute hyperopia
• C. Facultative hyperopia
• D. Latent hyperopia

Answer: (B)

The clear distinction here is how accommodation interacts with the refractive error. Accommodation can offset some hyperopia, but not all of it. The portion that cannot be eliminated by any amount of accommodation is called absolute hyperopia. This reflects a level of farsightedness that remains even when the eye tries to increase its focusing power. In contrast, facultative hyperopia is the part that can be reduced by accommodating, latent hyperopia is hidden by the eye’s tonic accommodation and only revealed when accommodation is relaxed (such as with cycloplegia), and manifest hyperopia is what you detect under normal, non-cycloplegic viewing. So the term that meets “hyperopia that cannot be overcome by accommodation” is absolute hyperopia.