Seeing double

All my life, I have had strabismus, specifically exotropia (meaning one eye is misaligned - in my case, the right eye pulls outward and up). For me, this causes double vision. I wear glasses with prisms to align my eyes as best as possible, but I never actually use both eyes together. I cannot see in 3D (also called stereovision or binocular vision). 3D movies look blurry to me, and I've never been able to "get" the magic eye puzzles. My peripheral vision and sense of depth are pretty poor.

In recent years, with editing work, library work and graduate school (i.e., lots of time reading and in front of computers), I have noticed even more eye fatigue and double vision when I'm tired. It is also hard to see objects at a distance, such as road signs while driving. I catch myself tilting my head back or to the side to get things to align.

Mostly, I cope with my screwy vision. What else is there to do? Over the years, many optometrists have told me that surgery might be an option to align my eyes, but that it is not always successful. I would still be nearsighted, more in one eye than the other, and my brain would probably not automatically know how to merge the input from both eyes. Also, my current optometrist recently explained that more than one eye muscle is probably affected. There are six muscles that control eye movement: two vertical, two horizontal and two oblique (rotating). My eye is pulled up and out, and everything seen from that eye is slightly rotated. This makes the problem more complex, and the solution more difficult.

Today I finished reading Fixing My Gaze by Susan Barry. She describes her experience as a lifelong strabismic, and how through vision therapy with a developmental optometrist, she became able to see in stereo (and 3D) at the age of 50.

For decades, scientists have thought that if a person with strabismus or similar eye problem did not have surgery or vision therapy at a very young age, they would never be able to use both eyes together. But Barry writes about many adults she encountered who, like her, became able to see in stereo after vision therapy.

So my vision may not be a lost cause. I plan to look into vision therapy, and at least meet with a developmental optometrist to see what my options are. Vision therapy is relatively simple, employing many focused tasks using the eyes alone and together, and using hand-eye coordination to retrain the eyes. (Before reading this book, I thought I should probably meet with an ophthalmologist. But they are actually doctors specializing in surgery and diseases of the eye, while developmental optometrists focus on the connection between eyes and brain. If eye surgery is an option, I would need to see an ophthalmologist as well.)

I can't imagine seeing in 3D, but any improvement in my vision would be amazing. I also wonder if my weird vision explains why my neck and shoulder muscles are always tense, and why I often run into things like doorways and cupboard doors.

Comments

[Bill]

You explain things so well. Wish I had the same facility...maybe backwards learning from child to parent??? I think your conclusion that the tightness in shoulder and neck is tied to the strabismus is correct.

[Ark]

You should try a relaxation massage for shoulder and neck area.
Good luck!

[Bonnie]

I was just telling Karen you'll do any exercises prescribed with your disciplined-self. Good Luck.

[keishua]

Hey, I'm a almost librarian(in grad school) and suffer from those problems, too.
Oh and I love your music taste.