I went to a "thread" seminar once and the presenter said, to those who like to moisten the tip of the thread before threading a hand or machine needle, to stop that practice. She said that moistening will only cause the thread fibers to puff up and be even more difficult to get through the eye of the needle. Instead, she said, moisten the needle. I can imagine doing that to a machine needle ;o) but it works pretty well with a hand needle. As for myself, I can hardly see the eye of a needle anymore. I've had to resort to needles with a crewel eye. Placing something white behind the eye helps direct the light better and makes threading a bit easier. Good luck.
BTW, she also suggested what was suggested above: cut the thread at a slant.