Floaters

They can OP. Before I even contracted tinnitus I recall a bout...or at least a perception of floaters. I don't really now.
They maybe there on occasion, but way less on my radar.

In some ways they are a bit like tinnitus. Some notice them and others don't. Unclear the true presence of each. Depends in part on the focus of the mind. The mind can get preoccupied with things...like floaters...like tinnitus.

The elephant in the room tends to get the biggest focus. Floaters, tinnitus, a sore knee, a bad back that may keep you from doing an activity you like...a hang nail.
You get the picture.

 

My visual snow/floaters have only gotten worse tbh.

 

Do you wear glasses?

When I developed dry eye syndrome and had to stop wearing regular contacts and switched to glasses I noticed my floaters much more. Also the drier my eyes are the more I seem to notice them.

I have scleral contacts now (very expensive and a lot more laborious to take care of) but they keep the eye hydrated and provide the same field of vision of regular contacts vs glasses lenses and they seem to help.

If you are recently noticing your floaters more it may be a good idea to have an ophthalmologist do a test to see how fast your tear film is deteriorating. If there’s an issue than doing things like washing your eyelashes with either special products or scent free baby shampoo can help with myobium gland secretion and using special kinda of eyedrops especially preservative free ones (I use one made with flaxseed oil called Refresh Mega-3) can help hydrate the eye. It’s not like it’s going to get rid of them but makes them easier to cope with most of the time.

 

From www.clevelandclinic.org: It's not the first time I read floaters go away with time. Is this true?

 

Not in my experience.......and many others. Maybe sometimes they do, but I think it's rare.

 

Well, these people say most cases tend to resolve by themselves. It's weird coming from a clinic in which they practise vitrectomy, don't you think so?

 

Maybe, but honestly I'm not surprised. After getting tinnitus and hyperacusis and hearing how doctors and ENTs makes claims about those conditions, which are proven false over and over again, I'm now very skeptic of doctors and I expect to hear some bullshit claims from them.

 

It's very important to remember that everyone is different. Especially with experiencing floaters. You will come across many horror stories. Here's my personal experience.... I had visual migraines with white flashes for a while. After stopping my birth control medication (for severe cramps) due to high blood pressure, it has gone away about 95%. Thank God.
My mother developed severe floaters in both of her eyes. She also began to develop cataracts. She had a very successful double surgery a year ago that took care of her cataracts and reduced her floaters by about 90%. Thank God. If the floaters become so severe they interfere with driving, you need to pursue more options. Sometimes it may be difficult to get a dr to ok a surgery, but do not let that stop you from pursuing it if necessary. But always listen to your doctors and I believe it's really important to have a good long-term eye dr you are comfortable with.
Make sure it isn't being caused by medication.

 

A little late to this thread but I was reading the people's posts regarding eye floaters. My ophthalmologist told me about a year ago that there is some pretty hopeful research out there that may come to market in about three years (two now) that will wipe out or reduce significantly eye floaters. If I recall correctly it will involve a shot (ouch) but she said the research is very hopeful and there is a lot of research going on to address this issue.

 

This would be fantastic. Do you have any link, or reference to the drug being investigated? A shot is much better than a vitrectomy.

 

Can floaters be brought on simply by stress?

 

How risky is a vitrectomy?

I developed eye floaters over 10 years ago. Over time I got used to it (maybe they improved a little, if possible) but a few days ago, after having tired eyes and sunbathing, they got super worse. They are not as annoying as tinnitus but it is very ugly anyway.
Some time ago an ophthalmologist told me that a person had a vitrectomy and ended up with an eye prosthesis. Is it really that risky? Do you have any experience?

 

Anyone else just get them when you move suddenly, like first thing in the morning when you open your eyes at the sound of the alarm? Most of the time I don't see anything.

 

Excessive BFEP, such as floaters, is a sign of Visual Snow Syndrome.

It’s possible that you do not have all the symptoms of VSS or only a mild case. I believe they are certainly related to tinnitus.

 

As far as I know, BFEP and floaters fall both under the term "entoptic phenomena" (visual effects that originate in the eye). Part of the possible symptoms of VS is "enhanced entoptic phenomena", in other words increased BFEP and floaters. Minor BFEP and floaters are normal. I have most VS symptoms, but neither BFEP nor floaters.

Edit: oh and yes, they are different. BFEP is seeing white blood cells. Floaters are shapes made of protein or other sources.
Edit2: pondering on your case, it seems your visual processing is affected too, similar to people with VS in the sense that you have part of the symptoms (enhanced entoptic phenomena). It would be very interesting to know how many people with tinnitus have enhanced entoptic phenomena, and how many actual VS. Did you have BFEP and floaters before you got T?

 

@Markku

Top of mind:

BFEP is Blue Field Entoptic Phenomena, as you know. There are two BFEP symptoms. One is floaters and the other is commonly referred to as BFEP, which can be a little confusing. BFEP is used as the category, but also for the specific symptom.

The floaters are impurities in the vitreous humour fluid in your eyes, which should be filtered out by your brain.

The BFEP symptom specifically refers to the white swirling dots VSS sufferers see when looking at the blue sky. It’s the white blood cells in the capillaries of your eyes, which should be filtered out by your brain.

Both are entoptic phenomena (inside the eyes). Both are more easily seen when looking at the blue sky under specific lighting condition.

I’ve never seen floaters or BFEP before I got VSS. Now I see floaters all the time, but they are intense under specific conditions, e.g. when looking at a white surface/background or at a computer screen. I see all kinds; white, gray, dots, squiggly lines.

I didn’t know what the BFEP symptom was, I’ve never seen swirling white dots when looking at the sky. However now it is overwhelming, I see hundreds of them when looking at the sky. It doesn’t even have to be sunny. It’s very intense and I can simply no longer look at a sky, it makes me nauseous and anxious.

@Sevv is right. The category is actually Enhanced or Excessive Entoptic Phenomena, with floaters and BFEP as symptoms.

I’ve just looked at https://visualsnowsyndrome.com/

• Enhanced entoptic phenomena (floaters, blue-field entoptic phenomena, self-light of the eye or spontaneous photopsia)

Not sure what self-light of the eye is or photopsia.

 

My life is ruined due to floaters

 

How severe is your case?

Do you have any other visual symptoms?

 

floaters and flashes: if the flashes are frequent and lasting longer than a few weeks, you might do well to have a Retina specialist do a thorough exam, in some cases flashes are symptomatic of retinal detachment or "tear" in the retina. It is repairable in most all cases. As for floaters, the typical treatment when sever is vitrectomy, and it is an often performed procedure and has good success rates in the US, and I would suspect in most other countries larger urban areas.

 

You don’t want to do a vitrectomy... terribly invasive and if they screw up... forget it.
Either deal with floaters... it’s just some loose cells floating around... I’ve had them since junior high... predates my tinnitus by 20 years. I doubt there is a connection between tinnitus and floaters, IMO.

There are three optometrists in the country that use a yag laser to zap the floaters, I would try this first. There is a small chance it increases the likelihood of cataracts down the road. The docs are in California, Florida and Virginia?

You all realize that the floaters move around... so if you haven’t noticed them for a while, then go ride a roller coaster...they may have shifted back into your field of view. Some people say they can slosh them out of view with quick eye movements... ymmv.

Of course in bright sunlight, or looking at a light/white wall you will see them easier.

 

Explain?

Also, someone mentioned floaters and flashes of light... if you have this... you DON’T want to wait weeks... this is an emergency situation since it is a major symptom of retinal detachment. See your eye doc ASAP, any eye doc can see a detached retina... you don’t need an appointment with a specialist.

 

I have had floaters much longer than tinnitus. Being nearsighted is a pain.

 

I think they are moderate but it's hard to tell. Yes, my vision seems sort of blurry and I also experience BFEP and light visual snow under some lighting conditions.

 

I of course have already had my eyes checked and everything looks fine........just full of floaters.

They cause me sooo much anxiety and contribute greatly to my deteriorating mental health

 

I’m sorry to hear that TheDanishGirl. Over the years my several specks have glued together to have a floating island in my eye about the size of a pencil eraser. When it is centered over my direct field of vision it’s like looking through plastic wrap.

I’d look into the YAG laser... it seems like some advances have been made since I last looked at it.

Has your eye doctor said anything about the floaters? Some eye doctors never look, others with a magnifying glass and light can see them at the right angle looking into your eye.

Good luck :-/

 

She looked with both magnifying glass and light and said she could see them, most prominently in my left eye, but that they were small in the other. I am looking into laser treatment.......or getting my hands on some Atropine. Atropine is pupil dilating and in a dose of only 0,01% it can make the floaters much better. I expect it will be difficult getting a prescription for this, and I'm kind of defeated already but I have to try.

 

Seeing more light when you close the eyes. I don't think that this is an entoptic phenomenon because what you see is most likely just your visual snow in the dark. Some people with VS describe it as wild colors dancing, as if you were high. I see just a whiteish texture, but the increase in self-light is minimal in my case as my VS is translucent (feels whiteish against the dark).
Photopsia is flashes of light. I don't have that. The only type of "flashes" I have are some minor negative afterimages that happen under certain contrast conditions in my case.

 

A few months ago, I was seeing floaters, dots and lightening and had very blurry vision in left eye due to hyperactive moments. The camel's back broke when I got had tension anxiety from playing a video game and that caused a sudden hyperactive crisis which is a sudden rise in blood pressure. This can happen with those who have disturbing tinnitus as white matter in the brain increases.

Certain vitamins and foods that I had taken also increased my chance for retina detachment. Either I was getting too much of some vitamins or not enough of others such as vitamin D. I was eating too much watermelon and fish that contained vitamin A. I was consuming too much potassium - potatoes. I was taking NAC daily. NAC is good for the eyes, but not for the white areas of the eyes.

I had lazer treatment and my vision improved with no more floaters, dots and lightening. There are also certain new discovered drugs, but they are very toxic with tinnitus. I received a major spike from trying these meds and it still has not settled.

Many with tinnitus, more so with pulsatile tinnitus and non noise hyperacusis development have had quick sudden, brief moments of hypertension. One may never realize moments of hypertension - a sudden, but brief rise in blood pressure. ICU heart monitors do record this, but I don't live in an ICU patient room. Hypertension crisis can cause organ failure, kidney and abdominal aortic problems that lead to heart problems and narrowing of veins and arteries in the neck. Often thumping and humming is caused from these developments and that can lead to clotting problems and other problems that associate to PT. 8% of all men over 65 die from a hypertension association and a large number of them also had progressed neuro white matter. Everyone with tinnitus should research - hypertension crisis in detail and all associations. Information will be found per the eyes and floaters. Hypertension happens easier with white matter in the brain and that is something all of us with tinnitus have.

 

YAG laser?

Are there new drugs for floaters?