I have problems with glasses too. When I was young all my glasses came from a family friend who was an optician. He used to spend a lot of time fitting them correctly. I don't think the major chain stores are willing to spare the time to fit glasses properly, and I doubt if the employees there are trained to really do it correctly either.

You can also get a headache not only from the "pinch" but if the glasses aren't centered properly... that is, not the way the frames are centered on your eyes but that the optical center of the lens is centered properly on your eye... which is determined by the way the frame sits on your face and that the lens is ground down correctly to fit your frame. Our optician friend used to let me come in the back and watch how the process was done.

Nowadays I have the same trouble with the local outfits. My latest pair I could not get not to hurt so I gave up on the shop and ended up bending them myself... Not something I'd recommend but I think I lucked out because they now fit fine with no trouble.

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I'd recommend trying to find a local optician... they may not have as large a variety of frames but they may be trained better to fit the glasses properly. There is a possibility maybe they can even take the glasses you got at lenscrafters and fit them for you if you ask.

Properly, frames really should be fitted to your head and ears for a comfortable and firm fit. It seems like the only thing they do at the big chain stores is bring the ends in to tighten them (which causes pinching) or bend them out to loosen them. "Too tight? Too loose? Just right?" which isn't really proper. I've never seen them adjust the position where the hook bends down to fit your ears, or the shape of the temple to hug your head properly. But if you can find someone who will do that I'd bet it would help tremendously.

In fact, my childhood optician used to adjust them by putting them on my head, standing over me, and seeing how they fit my head and ears, and continually making adjustments until they fit properly. At the chains, you just tell them how they feel, pass them back to the person over the counter, and they bend them. So they aren't really fitting them, just bending based on your "too tight" or "too loose" comments.

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If the pinching continues to be a problem they also make alternative styles or frames... for example you can get frames where at the point where the temples hook your ears, instead of "pinching" for a firm grasp, the hooks are made of a very flexible bendy wire that hooks around the back of your ears to hold them on that way. Maybe a pair like that would give you more relief, or see what other options they have.