In his own words, Ed is “blind as a bat” without his glasses because he has “terrible eyesight” and “can’t see anything” without them. He actually once went to get some new glasses, and when he told the girl who worked there his lens prescription, she said, “wow, really?!”
As is the case with a lot of people who have pretty bad eyesight, Ed’s glasses are actually the very first thing he reaches for when he wakes up in the morning.
He used to take them off every time he took selfies with fans, but I remember once when a friend asked him why and he said something about not liking the way they look in pictures, and I said something like, “Oh, I like them,” or “I think they look nice” (or something along those lines), and so he left them on for my photo, haha. He doesn’t seem as concerned about taking them off in fan pictures anymore, though. I’m glad, because I think glasses can be really attractive on boys. :)