Glasses Glasses — sometimes called spectacles or specs — were a set of glass lenses fitted into frames that allow for fixed , enhanced or altered sight . The Doctor wore glasses at various points in his life — sometimes for good cause , and sometimes because , in the words of the Tenth Doctor , they made him " look a bit clever " . Other people wore glasses for a variety of reasons . History . Rudimentary glasses existed as far back as 1539 , and though King Henry VIII very much required them to see , as he was practically blind , he was too vain to wear them . Even with such a device , he still could not see , as he had cataract s , which the Third Doctor healed for him . ( PROSE : " Hiccup in Time " ) Ursula Blake wore glasses which were , along with her face , embedded into the Abzorbaloff ' s chest after he absorbed her . They survived the Abzorbaloff ' s absorption into the Earth , and were still seen on Ursula ' s face which had been preserved into a pavement slab by the Tenth Doctor . ( TV : " Love & Monsters " ) The Doctor . Medical need . Only a couple of the Doctor ' s incarnations — the first and eleventh — actually used glasses correctively . The First Doctor sometimes wore a pair of wire - rimmed spectacles , but it wasn ' t known until after he regenerated that he actually " required " them to correct myopia . The newly regenerated Second Doctor briefly donned these on Vulcan to examine the murdered Examiner ' s badge before realising he could see perfectly well and didn ' t need reading glasses anymore . ( PROSE : " The Power of the Daleks " ) While drained by a Glubby Glub , the Ninth Doctor found himself straining to read a display on the TARDIS control console and suggested that he may be in need of glasses . ( AUDIO : " Retail Therapy " ) Much later , the Eleventh Doctor claimed that Amy ' s glasses improved his reading , ( TV : " The Angels Take Manhattan " ) though they additionally served as a memento of her . ( TV : " The Snowmen " ) Extreme long - distance vision . The First Doctor carried a pair of opera glasses in his pocket . He used them for his first glimpses of the Dalek City on Skaro . ( TV : " The Daleks " ) The Ninth Doctor also used a pair of foldable opera glasses for spying purposes . ( TV : " The Empty Child " ) Cosmetic use . The Fifth Doctor typically wore a pair of glasses in times of great stress , especially following his regeneration . ( TV : " Castrovalva " ) The Tenth Doctor wore a pair of tortoise - shell rimmed square glasses , usually when he was concentrating on a particular object or subject , indicating either extreme interest or " action mode " . ( TV : " Tooth and Claw " et al . ) The older incarnation claimed that both these and the Fifth Doctor ' s half - moon glasses — dubbing them " brainy specs " — were not at all medically necessary but worn just because they made the two Doctors " look a bit clever " . ( TV : " Time Crash " ) The Twelfth Doctor replaced his sonic screwdriver for a pair of sonic sunglasses . ( TV : " The Magician ' s Apprentice " - " The Husbands of River Song " , " The Pilot " , " Oxygen " ) Later on in his life , these glasses served a more functional use , to cover up his blindness . ( TV : " Oxygen " , et al . ) Exceptional cases . The Seventh Doctor seemed to use a pair of glasses to enhance his hypnotic ability . ( TV : " Silver Nemesis " ) The Tenth Doctor used a pair of 3D glasses when observing the effects of the Void on people and objects . ( TV : " Doomsday " ) He also wore a pair of sunglasses which were just his normal glasses tinted by his sonic screwdriver while on San Helios ( TV : " Planet of the Dead " ) and upon landing in the Ood Sphere . ( TV : " The End of Time " ) The Eleventh Doctor wore a pair of thermal imaging ' sunglasses ' to detect Silurian s in the dark . ( TV : " The Hungry Earth " ) The Twelfth Doctor once used a pair of 3D glasses to look out for Void stuff . ( COMIC : " The Fractures " ) Other people . As disguise . often used a pair of glasses as part of a disguise , such as his disguise as " Mr Magister " whilst in Devil ' s End . ( TV : " The Dæmons " ) Rory Williams once wore glasses at NASA headquarters prior to the launch of Apollo 11 in order to give the appearance of being a United States government official . ( TV : " Day of the Moon " ) For mind control . Another type of eyewear was used by War Lord s von Weich and Smythe to implant suggestions into the minds of their human subordinates , ensuring total obedience and an escape from awkward situations such as a human discovering a SIDRAT . Whilst many of the Resistance retained their will against the devices , Private Moor succumbed to its brainwashing , becoming convinced that von Weich was his commanding officer . Moor , however , finally broke free of his mental state and kill ed von Weich . ( TV : " The War Games " ) Other uses . Rory also once wore a special pair of glasses which allowed the Eleventh Doctor to see everything Rory saw through a screen in the Doctor ' s TARDIS , ( TV : " The Girl Who Waited " ) in a manner similar to the Eye - 5 contact lens es used by Torchwood . ( TV : " Reset " ) Toshiko Sato wore glasses when at her computer . ( TV : " Everything Changes " et al . ) Owen Harper also wore a pair once . ( TV : " Adam " )