HYPERPHORIA:Characterized by a tendency of the eye
to deviate in a vertical direction which is held in check
by the fusional impulses. - Duke-Elder, Vol. 4
While
we are well aware of being right handed, or left handed,
most of us pay little attention to the fact that one hand
may be larger than the other, one foot may be larger than
the other, one arm or one leg may be longer than its counterpart.
These small variations are virtually unnoticed and cause
little if any trouble.
There
is one other common variation in the symmetry of the human
body that is equally unnoticed but which can cause extreme
problems throughout life if not detected and corrected by
your vision specialist. One eye may be higher than the other.
This
physical condition, producing all too often a vision problem
known as hyperphoria, may affect as many as two out
of three people to some degree.
When
it exists the muscles of the body insist on making their
own correction for the high/low position of the eyes to
avoid a state of constant double vision. Without such compensations
as head tilting and the use of the forehead muscles to level
the eyes you would see a line of print like this:
The
automatic compensations very often correct the double vision
problem to such an extent that we are visually unaware of
any difficulty. But - the compensations can bring on other
chain reactions which make life difficult.
A
tilt of the head forces neck and shoulder muscles to strain
and to become sore and tight; this strain and tightness
often leads to headaches.
Unless
the spine makes the proper shift to adjust to the weight
of the tilted head - 15 to 22 pounds in weight in the adult
human being - your balance will be disrupted… and if
the spine does compensate for the tilt it is not unusual
for muscle stress to take place in the lower back.
And
from an appearance standpoint the continual tilt of the
head and strain of the forehead muscles produce uneven lines
in the forehead.
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One of
the worst side effects of this condition of the eyes is the
effect it may have on reading ability. Victims may find themselves
losing their place frequently as they go down a page of print,
especially if attempt to read rapidly and without following
a pointer finger. With some people the condition is so severe
that even a very slow reading and constant tracing of the
lines with a finger still do not prevent reading the same
line over again, or all too often skipping over one or two
lines as their eyes move down the page.
It is
obvious that this deficiency of visual ability can cause problems
for young and old alike, be it in the business world or in
the learning process during the years of schooling which we
all must undergo to reach the business world.
Poor
comprehension of written material or instructions often handicaps
the student or business person with hyperphoria, despite his
or her ability to comprehend lecture courses or verbal orders.
Other
problems which may arise as the result of one eye being higher
than the other include difficulty in judging distances, especially
where a moving object is involved; carsickness, often on level
ground; and failure to capitalize on natural physical gifts
in athletics.
What
is perhaps the most startling fact about this very common
condition is that it can produce the same difficulties for
those who wear corrective lenses as it does for those who
wear no lenses or have perhaps never even had a complete vision
examination!
A regular
refraction, thorough as it is when performed by your optometrist,
does not necessarily disclose the extent of the condition
or even condition itself. Bodily compensations overcome the
double vision in so many cases that the eyes perform in all
respects as though they were perfectly level.
A persistent
backache, the inability to catch or hit a baseball, and susceptibility
to carsickness, for example, do not routinely enter into your
ability to read letters at 20 feet or 20 inches but the same
bodily compensations which enable you to overcome the double
vision may be responsible for them.
The
additional tests prescribed for you, relatively simple in
nature, can confirm the high/low condition of the eyes, and
help the doctor to determine the amount of correction, if
any, required in your lenses for this specific vision problem.
Wearing of a diagnostic patch over one eye, usually for a
48 hour period, required only once in most cases, may require
some temporary sacrifice on your part but the results will
be well worth it and the benefits may be far reaching in your
life.
Uncomfortable
symptoms of hyperphoria:
- Confusion
while listening to persons speaking to you.
- Mysterious
severe headaches.
- Grouchy
and ill-tempered for no known reason.
- Losing
place while reading.
- Backache.
- Carsickness
even on level ground.
- Headtilting.
- Appearance
of poor coordination by inability to judge distances where
moving objects are involved.
- Severe
and uneven forehead lines.
- Inability
to focus the eyes easily on complex patterns of material,
clothing, or wall paneling.
- General
feeling of strain and irritability for no apparent reason.
Any
or all of these symptoms may be associated with the eye condition
described earlier, and may affect the lives of you and your
loved ones. It is wise to test for the high/low eye condition
so that it may be eliminated as a cause of such symptoms.
Copyright©
Akira Tajiri OD, Reedley Eyecare Center.
Call
(559) 638-2246 for an appointment that will change your life.
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