Does suffering from unexplained headaches, dizziness or double vision sound familiar?
It might not be your eyes – it might be binocular vision dysfunction. This common vision problem, in which your eyes struggle to work together properly, is prevalent in about 32% of university students alone.
You don’t have to go through life with binocular vision dysfunction, though. You also don’t have to go under the knife for treatment. Non-surgical interventions have been shown to reduce symptoms and improve your overall quality of life.
Let’s take a look…
Things You’ll Learn
- The reason binocular vision dysfunction occurs
- The best treatment approaches that don’t involve surgery
- How prism lenses can address up to 80% of your symptoms
- Vision therapy as a way of retraining your eyes and brain
The Deal With Binocular Vision Dysfunction
Binocular vision dysfunction occurs when the two eyes do not properly align to support the work of the vision process.
This works like this: if one of your eyes is misaligned, even a tiny bit, it takes extra effort for your brain to fuse the two images into one. This extra effort causes symptoms like headaches, eye strain, reading difficulties, and more.
And what most people don’t realize is that this misalignment might not even be obvious, or even be picked up during a regular eye examination. This is why you can suffer from binocular vision dysfunction for years without knowing it.
Why Non-Surgical Options Are So Effective
The best thing about non-surgical treatment options is that in many cases, surgery doesn’t even have to be an option. Non-surgical approaches work very well because they get to the root of the problem, allowing your eyes to work together efficiently.
They are much less invasive, much cheaper, and can be as effective as surgical procedures. In most cases of binocular vision dysfunction, surgery is avoidable.
Prism Lenses: A Secret Weapon Against Symptoms
The most effective non-surgical tool against binocular vision dysfunction is prism lenses.
Prism lenses are special glasses that alter the light that enters your eyes before it hits them. This alteration basically “tricks” your brain into thinking that the eyes are properly aligned, making it unnecessary for the eye muscles to constantly strain and compensate.
The prisms do this by slightly bending the light that enters your eyes. This then leads to your eyes’ images already being in line before your brain even has a chance to fuse them together. The fused image ends up much easier to process for your brain, thus leading to a much lower amount of symptoms.
And the results are usually immediate, with some patients reporting up to 50% improvements immediately after getting their lenses.
The average patient, after getting the correct micro prism lenses over time, shows an 80% symptom reduction.
Pretty sweet, huh?
Prism lenses are not your regular prescription eyeglasses. They are specifically custom-made to the correction your specific misalignment needs. This is determined by your eye doctor through a series of comprehensive tests.
Vision Therapy: Retraining Your Vision
Vision therapy is yet another non-surgical approach.
Vision therapy is an individualized program of eye exercises and visual activities, the goal of which is to improve the coordination between your eyes and your brain. It’s almost like doing a physical therapy for your eyes.
Vision therapy is so effective because it directly tackles the coordination issues that cause binocular vision dysfunction. Instead of just compensating for the misalignment like prism lenses do, vision therapy actually retrains your visual system to work better.
Vision therapy typically consists of:
- In-office exercises and activities with a trained optometrist
- At-home daily exercises
- Gradually more difficult exercises and activities
- Continuous monitoring and progress assessment
Vision therapy is particularly good at treating certain types of binocular vision dysfunction. Convergence insufficiency, which is the most common binocular vision dysfunction, affecting about 13% of all people with binocular vision issues, is a good example.
Combining Prism Lenses and Vision Therapy
The thing that most eye doctors will not tell you at the beginning is…
The best results are usually achieved with a combination of treatments.
Pairing prism lenses with vision therapy is actually the best way to go for many patients. This is because the prism lenses provide immediate symptom relief, which in turn allow you to perform the vision therapy exercises without suffering from constant headaches and eye strain.
The prism lenses are not permanent, either. With enough improvement from the vision therapy exercises, you might find that you need less and less prism correction over time.
Lifestyle Changes To Help With Treatment
Prism lenses and vision therapy are the heavy hitters here, but there are also some lifestyle modifications that can help you.
- Managing your screen time. Do the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a break and focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
- Proper lighting. Make sure your workspace and reading areas have good, even lighting. This helps reduce eye strain.
- Ergonomic setup. Position your computer monitor at the right height and distance to reduce visual stress.
These changes won’t get rid of your binocular vision dysfunction on their own, but they can help create an environment where your eyes can function more comfortably during your treatment.
Who Stands To Benefit Most From Non-Surgical Treatments
Most people with binocular vision dysfunction can benefit from non-surgical treatments.
Non-surgical approaches are especially good at helping out if you:
- Have mild to moderate eye misalignment
- Struggle with symptoms in your day-to-day life
- Do not want to put up with the risks and recovery time of surgery
- Have convergence insufficiency or accommodative dysfunction
Children are especially good candidates for vision therapy, as their visual systems are more easily retrain-able. However, this is no reason for adults to feel left out; non-surgical treatments are just as great for improving binocular vision dysfunction for them too.
A Realistic Timeline For Treatment
Let’s keep expectations realistic here…
Treatment of binocular vision dysfunction with non-surgical interventions is not an overnight solution. For most people, initial improvements can be felt within the first few weeks. However, it usually takes several months to experience the full benefits.
For prism lenses, you may need some adjustments along the way to get the prescription just right. Your doctor will be fine-tuning the amount of prism correction based on your feedback.
Vision therapy can take anywhere from 12-24 weeks, with weekly or bi-weekly sessions. The duration will vary depending on the severity of the dysfunction and how well you stick to your at-home exercises.
It is all worth it in the end, though. Once you notice improvements in your symptoms, it is a game-changer.
Wrapping Up
Binocular vision dysfunction is more common than you might think. The estimated prevalence is between 27-38%, but this can differ depending on age and demographics.
The impact it can have on your quality of life should not be understated, though. Performing daily tasks like reading, driving, or working on a computer can be incredibly uncomfortable and energy-draining.
The important thing to remember is this, however:
Surgery is not your only option. Non-surgical treatment options for binocular vision dysfunction like prism lenses and vision therapy can offer significant symptom relief for the majority of people. These options are much less invasive, less expensive, and often just as effective as surgical alternatives.
The most important thing you can do is to be properly diagnosed by an eye care professional who is experienced in dealing with binocular vision issues. A regular eye examination might not be enough to spot the subtle misalignments that can cause so many symptoms.
If you are experiencing unexplained headaches, dizziness, eye strain or difficulty concentrating, especially after reading or other visual tasks, then it might be time for you to get evaluated for binocular vision dysfunction. With the right non-surgical treatment, you too can get the relief you deserve.
