Starbursts from new glasses driving me insane. Can anyone help?

[Chancery]

Hi, I recently got 2 new pairs of glasses, one with Transitions lenses and one 'plain'. There's been a lot of faff with the Transitions because I didn't like the frames, but right at the outset I noticed I was suddenly getting these epic starbursts on lights (with both pairs), particularly in the distance. I told the assistant way back at the start, and he asked the optician and the optician said it was because I had cataracts (mild). At the time, I accepted this, a little reluctantly, but after I left the shop I began to wonder. I assumably had the cataracts with my old glasses and they had no starbursts, so why would I suddenly have starbursts now?

Anyway, I've mostly been faffing around trying to get the Transitions glasses right and my anxiety is off the scale. Ironically, it was coming home from yet ANOTHER visit to the opticians that I had to navigate this big junction at night. It has traffic coming from all directions and I just feel blinded by what is almost like a barbed wire fence of light. I can't see if a bus is coming or read its number because there is just so much visual 'noise' from these starbursts, and it made me do something I should have done sooner - I went for a night walk with my new glasses and two pairs of old glasses and the old glasses do NOT have starbursts, so what is going on here?

I have been all over Google trying to get an answer but can find nothing. If anyone has any experience of this, or knows why this may be happening I'd be really grateful. It's making my vision really bad at night - if I was a driver I'd have had to give up! So any help (or a suggestion where this question might be better placed), most gratefully received. Thanks!