Binocular Vision Evaluations

Binocular Vision Evaluations

binocular visual dysfunction (BVD)

In a normal patient, each eye creates a clear image and the brain is responsible for merging these two images into a single, clear image. BVD is a condition that occurs when the eyes are misaligned and each eye sends a different image to the brain. When these images are different, the brain is unable to merge them and the patient constantly perceives a blurry or double image.

Symptoms of BVD

The misalignment is usually very small in magnitude, but enough to cause debilitating symptoms such as:

• Headaches

• Blurred vision

• Fluctuating vision

• Double vision

• Eye fatigue or eye strain

• Tiredness and loss of concentration

• Difficulty concentrating when reading or learning

Accommodative dysfunction

Accommodation is our eyes' ability to trigger our focusing muscles when looking at near and these muscles must also relax when looking at an object at distance in order to be made clear.

There are 2 main types of accommodative dysfunctions:

• Accommodative insufficiency: the most common; makes it difficult for an adult or child to efficiently maintain focus when looking at near.

• Accommodative infacility: makes it difficulty to switch focus from near to far and vice versa.

Symptoms of accommodative dysfunction

Common debilitating symptoms are:

• Eye fatigue

• Eye strain

• Blurry vision when looking at near (i.e. reading)

• Difficulty maintaining focus when switching from near to far OR far to near

• General fatigue towards the end of the day

• Headaches (around brow, forehead, and sometimes temples)

• Blurry vision looking into the distance after prolonged near work (i.e. reading)

You may also notice your child:

• Avoiding detailed near work

• Having difficulty sustaining attention when doing homework

• Complaining about difficulty copying from the board

• Having poor reading fluency or comprehension

• Requiring frequent breaks to complete work