We believe up to 10% of the general population suffers from Vertical Heterophoria (VH). VH can be congenital, meaning you are just born this way. It can also develop after a traumatic brain injury, even a mild concussion. Symptoms include, headache, dizziness, light sensitivity, difficulty reading, and a feeling of being unbalanced.
We know that many people have one eye that is physically higher than the other, yet not all these people suffer from the symptoms of VH. Many patients do not have any symptoms until they hit a certain age. Typically this occurs in the 40s when all our muscle systems have a difficult time functioning as the once did. Sometimes, a stress to the body such as an inner ear infection, pregnancy, Lyme disease, or the flu can be the trigger for VH symptoms to begin.
Up to 50% of patients who still experience Post Concussive symptoms 3 months after their brain injury have developed VH. The signals from the visual system, vestibular system, and brain are not working properly. Many people are misdiagnosed with convergence insufficiency only and VH is missed. The vertical component can be very small and specific tests need to be performed to identify these small vertical muscle problems. When we correct the vertical misalignment, the eyes have a much easier time converging. Eye exercises do not work for the vertical muscles. They can not be trained. This is why so many patients still have significant symptoms after months of vision therapy.
We use very precise prismatic correction in a pair of glasses to correct these misalignments. Patients experience a 70 to 80% reduction in symptoms by the end of treatment. No lenghty or costly vision therapy. Just a very special pair of glasses. If you would like to find out if Vertical Heterophoria is causing your symptoms, please log on to our website www.nvcofny.com. Take our quantified questionnaire and we will contact you with your results.
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