How Your Optometrist Diagnoses Binocular Vision Dysfunction

When reading or doing close work, do you suffer eyestrain, headaches, or blurry vision? These frustrating symptoms may indicate a binocular vision problem. Keep reading to understand this common vision disorder. It would also help to learn how eye doctors test for it during an exam.
 

What Is Binocular Vision Dysfunction?

Binocular means “two eyes.” Binocular vision dysfunction is when your eyes do not work together correctly. This disrupts depth perception, focus, tracking skills, and other visual tasks.
 

This condition can stem from problems with the muscles that control eye movements. BVD can also result from issues with the nerves that transmit information from the eyes to the brain or with the brain itself.
 

As a result, people feel visual discomfort and eye fatigue. They strain to see clearly, especially when reading. Since the eyes seem healthy, these issues surprise many. An optometrist can diagnose what is going on.
 

Signs of Possible Binocular Dysfunction

Do the following symptoms sound familiar?

• Blurry vision reading or computing.
• Eye tiredness and head/neck aches.
• Losing your place or skipping lines of text.
• Squinting, blinking, or rubbing eyes a lot.
• Avoiding to read close work.
• Letters seeming to move or tilt.

If you regularly deal with one or more of these, it likely signals binocular dysfunction. Make an optometry appointment to pinpoint any vision issues. Identifying causes is key to fixing frustrating symptoms interfering with your daily life.

Testing Binocular Eye Teamwork Skills

A standard eye chart checks visual sharpness with each eye. Other specialized tests also check how well eyes work together. Near-point testing shows how close you can focus clearly and maintain a single vision. This determines if you strain to see up close. A stereopsis test checks 3D depth perception using polarized images. Issues arise if you do not perceive depth accurately.

Fusion ability measures how well your eyes align images. Tracking tests use eye movements to follow targets. It uncovers teaming issues and conditions like lazy eye. The results reveal deficiencies in binocular visual skills that create discomfort and headaches.

Uncovering Root Causes of Dysfunction

After testing binocular vision, the next step is to determine what underlying problems explain the findings. The most common causes include:

• Convergence insufficiency — Eyes can’t turn inward enough to read close-up.
• Eye alignment deficits — Poor eye teaming skills.
• Eye focusing problems — Issues changing focus between distances.
• Visual processing disorders — Difficulty interpreting images.

Understanding root causes guides proper treatment to relieve discomfort and improve function.

Tailored Treatment Options

Lens therapy uses glasses or special contacts to help both eyes work together. Prism lenses reposition images, bifocals help with focus, and other lenses align the eyes. Well-designed lenses make it easier for both eyes to team up.

Vision therapy includes personalized eye exercises guided by the optometrist. A therapist leads you through drills to strengthen skills like alignment, coordination, and focusing. Practice helps your eyes work better together.

Eye patching covers the strong eye, making the weaker one work more. It is for misaligned eyes, improving fusion and teaming. Alternating patching between eyes helps the brain incorporate the neglected one.

Consistent treatment improves how eyes converge, track, focus, and process images. Patients regain depth perception and comfortable reading abilities. If reading tires your eyes, do not ignore it.

See an optometrist to diagnose what is interfering with quality vision. Testing eye alignment identifies poor focus, tracking, or depth perception, thus revealing the root causes of discomfort. Then, customized treatments strengthen your vision skills.

For more on BVD, visit Ocean Park Optometry at our Santa Monica, California office. Call (310) 452-1039 to schedule an appointment today.