"Fading closeup vision is one of the more vexing and ubiquitous consequences of growing older. For Cheri Ekstadt of Lakeville Minnesota its meant buying nine pairs of reading glasses which she places wherever she might come across something with fine print. I usually have three upstairs and three downstairs and some in my purse says Ekstadt . Without the glasses she cant read anything.  Looking at the computer whether it be for work for Facebook any labels when Im out shopping reading the newspaper I cant do that she says. Like millions of other Americans over age  Ekstadt has presbyopia aging eyes. Some notice it more than others but it happens to everyone when the lenses in the eyes lose their flexibility. Its just a part of getting older says Dr. Ralph Chu an ophthalmologist in private practice in Bloomington Minnesota. Related Scientists Harness Stem Cells for GrowYourOwn Eye Repair Surgery http But that may be changing. In a little over a year the FDA approved two new devices to help with agerelated vision loss. The most recent to receive approval the Raindrop is made mostly from water and works by reshaping the cornea helping the eye to focus better on closeup objects. Both of the new implants Raindrop and KAMRA go into only one eye. The other eye will be for seeing distance explains Dr. D. Rex Hamilton director of the Laser Refractive Center at the Stein Eye Institute at the University of California Los Angeles and a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. So the other eye needs to have good distance vision without glasses Hamilton says adding that sometimes people have laser surgery to improve the distance vision in the eye that wont be getting an implant to improve vision closeup. Also Hamilton notes the implants arent a be all end all. They may work quite well for a period of time but a persons lenses will continue to change with age and ultimately the patient may need cataract surgery. A cataract procedure replaces the lens improving both near and far vision and lasts for the rest of the patients life. About half of Americans have cataracts or cataract surgery by age  according to the National Eye Institute. Still for those who dont want to wait till their lenses cloud over this is a lifechanging procedure Chu says. This is more than just about convenience. Its functioning in your daytoday life. No more readers Ekstadt has the privilege of being the first person in the nation to get the Raindrop outside of a clinical trial. The procedure to implant the device into Ekstadts cornea takes less than  minutes The doctor uses a laser to create a tiny pocket in her cornea and two minutes later the Raindrop is inserted and the procedure is finished. Just  minutes after the surgery Ekstadt can already see better and can make out a line in the eye chart that she couldnt decipher before. And now shes able to read without the aid of glasses. That doesnt mean she wont need more attention from her doctor says Hamilton. Theres a healing process after the inlay is put in that requires eye drops be put in on a daily basis for around three months says Hamilton. You need to be monitored by your surgeon during that period of time. One downside the implants arent covered by insurance or Medicare says Hamilton adding the cost is around  to . There are other risks with the procedure but they are rare according to clinical trials. Any time you do surgery there is a risk of infectionabout one in  Hamilton says. And an infection in the cornea can cause scarring that can affect your vision. Hamilton suggests that people wanting to have an implant find an experienced eye surgeon one who does both cataract surgery and refractive surgery which includes LASIK. Lauren Dunn is a medical producer for NBC News Linda Carroll is a contributor for NBCNews.com"