Vertical Heterophoria Syndrome

Vertical heterophoria is an eye condition whereby one eye is higher than the other. The difference is not observable when looking at oneself in the mirror. I have learned that it can cause a vast number of physiological problems extremely similar to the many causes of vestibular dysfunction. The numerous symptoms can also be present ALL of the time.

I had stumbled across this particular problem years ago whilst researching anything vestibular related but swiftly brushed it aside thinking it was some stupid new medical term. Unfortunately I did not look at the vast symptom list. I have been told by a number of doctors that I have visual vertigo and I have to say my problem certainly feels visual. I cannot track motion, read without skipping words, I have a hard time maintaining focus and gaze on one spot.It's like I have to fight and strain my eyes to keep them on point. Busy visual stimuli (shops,traffic,moving visuals on screens etc) all are difficult daily as is walking around shops,holding conversation and walking without rearing off. My vision always feels stiff/slow and out of focus. I experience double vision/shadowing in one eye one day and in the next eye the next day on a weekly basis. Blurred vision usually in one eye at a time is frequent since this all began. Other times in between there is no blurriness or double vision.

Anyway, If this is the problem like it has been for many then treatment is fantastic and just requires the person to wear prism lenses for a while to correct the problem. In fact significant improvement in all areas can occur within days or weeks. I really feel this is something I need to be tested for since I have exhausted nearly every avenue I can think of without success. I just hope they test for this and treat this eye disorder in opticians around the UK.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms caused by vertical heterophoria. The list was taken from verticalheterophoria.com

Dizziness Headache Anxiety Lightheadedness Nausea Unsteady Walk Poor Coordination Poor Depth Perception Motion Sickness Covering an eye easier  Hard to maintain a stable gaze

Eye Pain Neck Ache Crowd Anxiety Sensitivity to Light Sensitivity to Glare Double Vision OverlappingVision Difficulty Reading Difficult Reading  Comprehension Skipping words/Lines

Tilting Your Head Pain when moving eyes Upper Back Pain Shoulder Pain Shadowed Vision Losing your Place when Reading Fatigue when Your Reading Blurred Vision