Why you should see a NeuroVisual Optometrist for your headaches and other symptoms
From all walks of life, regardless of age, gender, or race, there are Silent Sufferers. They look fine from the outside, but the truth of the matter is they’re suffering from one or more painful symptoms every day. At one time in their lives they may have complained about the frequency or severity of their headaches, the difficulty of concentrating when reading, or constant unsteadiness when walking, but time has taught them to stay quiet because no one is really listening any longer.
That’s harsh, isn’t it? As friends and family, we’re taught to listen to each other because it’s important to “be there” for one another—to feel support and love through every stage of life. Yet, these silent sufferers have learned if there is no answer to their pain after a period of time (be it weeks, months, or years), then the support system can come to a grinding halt. They may think there is no treatment left to try and they may wish to stop “burdening” their support team with their symptoms. They lose hope.
Our patients are those Silent Sufferers. Those who have been told they are normal, nothing’s wrong, the results look fine. They’ve seen specialists but with no help; they experience doubt in their doctor’s eyes, or equally as disheartening, their loved ones’ eyes. They continue to struggle with the symptoms no one else understands.
Those people (maybe it’s you) are exactly who Vision Specialists of Michigan (VSM) can help. Many people express skepticism when they hear “vision.” “What do my eyes have to do with these headaches/face pain/dizziness/et cetera?” they ask (and perhaps what you’re asking right now).
A surprisingly great deal, actually. A misalignment of the eyes or any condition in which the two eyes are not working as a team (often undetected in regular eye exam), can lead to severe symptoms that worsen over time. These eye conditions or misalignment, categorized as Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), are most often so minimal it requires special eye testing for its discovery. But when it is discovered, as NeuroVisual Optometrist Dr. Debby Feinberg attests, the treatment can be life-changing.
“We have patients who have suffered for years,” she says. “And once they receive a pair of glasses to their exact prescription, they can begin to feel relief almost immediately.” Since 1995, Dr. Debby and her team have treated nearly 8,000 patients. Most patients get the relief they’ve been seeking for so long, and many of them are children, military veterans, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) sufferers.
The body compensates for BVD in various ways, which can result in symptoms flaring up in the forms of dizziness, nausea or motion sickness, double vision or blurring vision, difficulty with reading or paying attention to subjects, light sensitivity, balance or walking issues, poor depth perception, headaches or migraines, and anxiety (including agoraphobia) or feeling overwhelmed in large areas (think of a Walmart or similar store). Any one symptom or combination of the aforementioned symptoms would make a person a good candidate to be screened for BVD.
At the heart of Vision Specialists of Michigan is the desire to help the Silent Sufferers and spread the word. Please take the short questionnaire at IsItMyEyes.com to learn with more clarity if you are likely sufferer from BVD.
How many people do you know who are Silent Sufferers? Would you even know a Silent Sufferer if you saw one? Most likely not. Share this story and the link to IsItMyEyes.com to your friends and family; it might be exactly what they need. #SilentSufferer
