Visual Snow and Tinnitus

Hi,

Is anyone else experiencing "visual snow" in addition of tinnitus? Tinnitus is one of the related symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

I've been experiencing visual snow as long as I can remember but now I feel it's getting worse. This may be due to the fact that I've been really stressed since tinnitus onset (last 9 months). Additionally I'm feeling like my eye floater count is going up slowly. I have also suffered from migraines occasionally in my youth. These are considered as visual snow related symptoms.

Quote from Wikipedia: In May 2014 the results from the first major research trial into visual snow were reported.[2] The study described strong evidence from positron emission tomography scans (PET) that the disease is caused by hypermetabolism in the right lingual gyrus and left cerebellar anterior lobe of the brain.​

I'm just thinking that could this all be related to each other more or less. After all tinnitus is a neurological condition half of the time.

 

Bump.
I was going to make a post about it myself, this will do.
My eyes and ears have always been superb until back at the age of around 17-18 where I started experiencing eye problems. At the point I was spending zero time at my computer, however lots infront of the telly.
My vision started to get completely blurry every time I woke up to clear up after some time.
I have a couple of string floaters which seem mandatory to many people, it's just hard looking it a clear blue sky cause seeing the shadow of white blood cells flowing through your eyes (Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon), anyhow they should only be on clear surfaces, they're just always there in the night too. Add visual snow to that as well, I also seem to see grids and lines extented of shadows, sometimes spots and shapes of colour on potentially white walls that arent there -.-
It is written that there is an overrepresentation of tinnitus in people with visual snow, I'm wondering if anyone has experienced something like it? And no, not just floaters

 

Hey @Tenna, I have had floaters and visual snow syndrome for as long as I can remember. But until recently I didn't know what they were and it never bothered me. Until I found out that it was not normal.

 

@cullenbohannon
I know exactly what you mean! The stringed floaters doesnt annoy me so much, how I just found out that visual snow is an actual thing, and as it has been bothering me for some time, knowing it shouldnt be like that, and people with vs have a higher prevalence of tinnitus, it adds up a lot. >.<

 

I developed visual problems very shortly before noticing the T; the visual stuff was actually a lot more problematic than the audio stuff for the first year or so until I basically habituated to it.

The internet diagnosis I came up with at onset was "HPPD" because I'd taken hallucinogenic drugs a handful of times in the prior year. However, at this point I've talked to a good number of people who ran into the same visual/audio feedback loop problems around the same age (17-19) with no drug use at all, so who knows! It's also worth noting that I probably had my first ever cold sore in the months before this started, and since HSV is at least suspected to be a factor in some tinnitus and neurological issues, I have long wondered if that was part of the puzzle.

Whatever the case, the visual stuff hasn't fazed me even slightly in ~15 years at this point... nor has it gotten any worse, or even changed in any way that I'm aware of. Honestly, that right there is a reasonable indicator that it might be connected to something other than drugs, just because I dabbled with psychedellics a number of times subsequently in my late teens / early 20s. If those drugs had really been a casual factor, it seems odd that further use wouldn't have gradually exacerbated it.

Just like the T, the snow/etc it becomes more noticeable if I am overtired, stoned or stressed out.

I've read some good things about both Lion's Mane mushrooms, and the drug Keppra, in this regard -- but I have not tried either.

 

I'm secretly hoping that the medicine which solves the T will solve visual snow aswell. After all these both are caused by the hyperactivity of the neurons.

On the other hand I could be a good candidate for Retagibine/Keppra/Flupirtine since my brain seems to kind of hyperactive in many ways. All these drugs balance neurons in their own way.

 

If you're anything like me, benzos will significantly reduce both sets of problems -- unfortunately, it's not a long term solution.

At this point I might be willing to take a specific drug for the tinnitus, if it was actually effective and didn't make me a robot. I think I'm done with seizure drugs, though.

My brain is also hyperactive in many ways; meditation is about the only thing I trust to tip that balance anymore.

 

Very interesting indeed guys, *happy* to know I'm not the only one experiencing this.
I've never done any drugs and the symptoms seem equal. Going to be interesting to see in future how a line of disorders will be proven connected :]

 

That is exactly how some people feel about their T, interestingly enough!

I have had floaters for years, long before T. Floaters are kinda of like T in a way. You can totally ignore them and not see them but then when they are in your conscious they are so noticeable. It is the same with T. You can sometimes totally ignore it and not hear it at times, then when you think about it, you do.

 

I have noticed floaters more since tinnitus, but I think they were always there, it's the heightened state of awareness probably.

 

@erik It's a good correlation indeed.
And I definitely feel the 'this is not normal' aspect adds up to the fear and it being a problem, to me the floaters aren't a biggie, the visual snow in contrary.. Everytime someone asks me whether it's raining, I always see a slight drizzle everywhere, whether it's rainy or sunny, indoor or outdoor. It freaks me out

 

I just recently discovered I have this as well on top on my T, I don't know if its recent or if its been there all along curious about the headaches I used to get them all the time and they would last for days not migraine intensity but still annoying.

 

I see @Danworth, how does your look like?

 

Snowy Vision (Visual Snow)

This is pretty accurate I'd say.

 

A very slight fuzzy image over most of my vision.

 

@linearb Yeah I've watched that vid, and it is, mine is a milder degree, seeing a light drizzle everywhere is tiresome.
@Danworth I see, does it bother you?

 

Not really Im fairly certain its been with me for a while, but just like with the T its more noticeable at certain times than others.

 

Lately it has been a huge bother to me. Started a new education, and unless someone shouts right next to me I don't give t much thought, the vs is just taking my focus now and being a huge bother

 

I recently heard that the white eyefloaters we see when you look at the sky are actually the white bloodcells in the eyes the light up when the light reflects them and projects them on the retina.

this websites backs it up.

http://io9.com/you-can-see-your-own-white-blood-cells-flowing-through-1652136232

 

How to see white blood cells in your eye - the...

@nills Found it by lucky accident, it's called the Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon that specific one, they distinguish between Visual snow (VS), Floaters and Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon. It's an interesting watch.

 

Seeing this post has made me really worried

At night and in dark situations I can't properly focus on things, it's not clear, it's like there's millions of little dots, like a faint static, but not White static like a tv. It also happens with anything slightly dark. I've always thhough it was normal. Is this visual snow?

I really don't know how to explain it. It's not clear like durint the day, the image is very distorted at night and in dark. I mean millions of little dots. Or is this normal?!

Thanks.

 

OOOh those things ... yeeeeees my god that`s normal!! ... you mean you don`t see pure black but it is dark with this little tiny dots all over the place that have even a yellowish and sometimes greenish tint to them ... and if you look long enough sometimes you even see spirals coming or cirkels ... Oh dear .. this should be the very last of you worries friend!!! go to sleep man, think happy thoughts

 

Phew! Thank you, it just seems to be happenign all the time now and I can't focus. Thank you for settling my mind, I just struggle so much with anxiety

 

Yes it seems like you do - just have a laugh about it! ... it doesn`t matter ... life is to beautiful to worry about little dots ... be well

 

Yeah true!

I just worry it will get worse, as even in the light there's so many little dots, but I guess this is nothing compared to the proper visual snow which people mention!

 

Don`t worry about it it is normal ... i`m in a half dimmed room looking at the white ceiling and it is full of this `noise` ... it is really reaaally normal ... so forget about it! ... when you know you are prone to worrying about these things you shuldn`t worry about your worrying ... just continue doing what you do and suddenly you notice you forgot about it ... that is the wisest way to deal with anxiety fears and worry ... make it so insignificantly it doesn`t mean anything ... I used to have a fear of spiders ... As a child I could go int to these paralised states even (they put me on Relatine when I was a kid) ... I one day almost gave myself a heartattack imagining a gigantic spider was behind me about to eat me ... my left arm started tingeling ... the point is one day I was fed up with fear ... I saw a black hairy spider and picked it up ... few years ago I was in Australia and just for fun I had a huntsman walking over my arm (google huntsman ) ... I also slept in the jungle in Peru when I heard something at night and thought it was a mouse or rat crawling around ... It was a giant tarantula creeping across the roof of my grass hut ... I put my mosquito net under the mattress and I just went back to sleep ... This is how you deal with this rubbish your mind and emotions come up with ... you tackle them like you do when you have 1 minute left to win the match and the defender is coming at you at full speed ... BOOM ... no fear!

 

Thanks for the words, your words helped me calm down and get good sleep!

I'm still a bit concerned though as I see like this drizzly, grainy stuff almost everywhere except when I'm driving in full light. I guess it's just when it's dark, the eyes are still trying to adjust but receive no stimulus and so give this fuzzy feedback? I'm just concerned how it's during the day too.

Got an eye appointment booked on Wednesday though.

 

Let us know what happens geg. I've read your posts and I'm fairly certain me and you have the same thing going on. Best of Luck.

 

Well, the eye doctor will say ... don`t worry man you are normal! ... I was just looking out the window at some dark trees and very light sky... the sky has this little noise in it also ... than I moved my eyes and suddenly I see the shape of the trees very white in the sky ... it is normal this stuff ... this is just how the brain works. Anyway, go see your doctor.. he will pacify your mind

 

Hey, @Zechariah , I'm sorry you have this. Absolutely, it is hyperactivity of the certain parts of the brain that causes these symptoms-definitely the snow. Based on working with other integrative doctors, their research, and my own, I'm confident in telling you that this is the conclusion many of them have also come to. I got my snow, floaters, and other visual problems (list is long) after exposure to a water-damaged, toxic building (includes many biohazards like neurotoxins and harmful bacterias that cause overactivity and inflammation in the body and brain). Certain tests are able to measure hyperactive brain activity, though these are very expensive and many doctors do not do them due to it not really leading to a treatment plan/more income for them, or simply due to them being unaware. If you want to do these kinds of test on your own, usually it's not worth doing spect scans for example, (measures circulation/active parts in the brain/damage parts of the brain), because insurance usually does not cover them...of course.

These symptoms can be caused by a lot of things, but usually from mold (only mycotoxins or mycotoxicosis-does your home smell damp?), lyme, chemical exposures, brain trauma from car accident, anything that causes a chronic cytokine reaction in the body which creates inflammation that essentially doesn't leave. Through HBOT and an anti-inflammatory diet (mainly), with a few other things, these other symptoms have been leaving me. Still stuck with the crackling, fullness, and tinnitus from acoustic trauma many months ago however-I don't know what causes this..if it is inflammation, or of something else (possibly even a combination). I just don't know right now.