4 ms·

I have this condition called visual snow syndrome, a neurological condition which causes my tinnitus. Symptoms are always there, but luckily, mine are mild. The

I have this condition called visual snow syndrome, a neurological condition which causes my tinnitus. Symptoms are always there, but luckily, mine are mild. The tinnitus is the most noticeable though unless I'm listening to music.

jdr23bc 4y ago
I have this too. Is there some study showing it is the same underlying problem causing both symptoms? I only knew that you are more likely to have tinnitus and migraines if you have visual snow. There are some treatments for both symptoms. The ones I've tried involve listening or looking at static. Neither had much effect on me. The best way I've found to deal with it is to ignore it. focusing on treatments preversly makes me more aware of the annoyance.
- garganzol 4y ago
  There may be the same underlying problem for both tinnitus and visual snow. The problem can be characterised as a systemic neurological damage. For example, it can be caused by the loss of myelin in nerve fibres. In turn, that condition is commonly caused by the underlying metabolic problems, which can be caused by genetic mutations in mitochondria, toxins, episodes of hypoxia, unhealthy lifestyles, oxidative stress. When this happens, the other symptoms may include chronic fatigue, acquired insulin resistance, T2DM, sometimes various neurological manifestations in different parts of the body, and even dementia. Personal mileage may vary, it really goes from 1 to 11.
- thrusong 4y ago
  After seeking medical help, my doctor did discover I had a critical B12 deficiency, but AFAIK there is no connection even though I had nerve damage from the B12 issues. Apparently a healthy number is 500+, most people will present with issues in the 250-300 range, and I was at 166 when critical is 144ish. I have to take a daily pill for the rest of my life and things have improved, but the VSS is still the same.
  - garganzol 4y ago
    There is a connection. You can imagine a nerve as a cord and when it gets damaged even slightly the signal dropouts do occur. Just like an analog TV gets noisy when the coaxial cord or its connection gets subpar, the human visual field gets distorted in a similar way. You can apply that analogy to hearing problems (e.g. tinnitus) as well. For a long time we believed that when neurons die the condition stays forever and cannot be improved. However the consequent observations on WW2 veterans proved the opposite - neuro tissues do recover but they do so extremely slowly. If you had such a good response to B12 means that not all is lost. What you can try to achieve is to provide the conditions for faster neurological recovery: speed-up the cellular ATP production to provide the energy for anabolism while slightly suppressing the immune system response so it does not get in the way. You biological machinery will do the rest. The first part of the equation is reached with specific combinations of vitamins and coenzymes. For example, here is a combination that can serve as the basis: B1 in therapeutical doses (pills, >= 250 mg per day) + multivitamin. The second part of the equation is reached with NSAIDs. Such treatment may allow you to reach some notable improvements just in few months. And those improvements will persist and accumulate.
    - thrusong 4y ago
      I really appreciate this— I'll look into it!
shafyy 4y ago
After reading your comment, I looked up visual snow syndrome, and I think I have it, too. I guess not much one can do about it?
- garganzol 4y ago
  Search for Beriberi. This is a condition caused by a malnutrition. The end result is onset of an acquired mitochondrial dysfunction which leads to some degree of a neurological damage. There are various possible causes for acquiring a mitochondrial dysfunction beyond the malnutrition. The good news is that it can treated if it is not caused by a genetic defect. The treatment is similar to treating Beriberi, regardless of the original cause. The unpleasant part is that it takes some time and patience ranging from months to years.
danaos 4y ago
Did you get diagnosed by a professional? I suspect I suffer from the same rare symptoms but I am too affraid to ask an ophthalmologist on such a rare condition.
- thrusong 4y ago
  I don't have an official diagnosis, but I did see an optometrist because I was afraid I was going blind who said "I know exactly what you're describing." I then saw my GP who ordered an MRI to make sure it wasn't MS. The MRI found absolutely nothing. My eye doctor says my eyes are extremely healthy. My symptoms line up exactly with VSS and I had a lot of peace of mind knowing what I was experiencing and that I wasn't going blind, so I didn't pursue the proper further test (PET scan, I think). Honestly, the peace of mind was worth it, but be armed with research on it.
  - danaos 4y ago
    Thank you! I will probably follow suit with my GP. It's always good to find people suffering from the same condition. Helps with managing your psychological issues.
PBnFlash 4y ago
I had never heard of visual snow, it's interesting that the symptoms seem to primarily be the brain not rejecting normal noise sources like floaters and white blood cells.
- thrusong 4y ago
  That's how I understand it, that it's some combination of interference getting into the nerves after the images are merged from the eyes, but also that the brain also doesn't filter out things that it normally does.

jdr23bc 4y ago

I have this too. Is there some study showing it is the same underlying problem causing both symptoms? I only knew that you are more likely to have tinnitus and migraines if you have visual snow. There are some treatments for both symptoms. The ones I've tried involve listening or looking at static. Neither had much effect on me. The best way I've found to deal with it is to ignore it. focusing on treatments preversly makes me more aware of the annoyance.

garganzol 4y ago
There may be the same underlying problem for both tinnitus and visual snow. The problem can be characterised as a systemic neurological damage. For example, it can be caused by the loss of myelin in nerve fibres. In turn, that condition is commonly caused by the underlying metabolic problems, which can be caused by genetic mutations in mitochondria, toxins, episodes of hypoxia, unhealthy lifestyles, oxidative stress. When this happens, the other symptoms may include chronic fatigue, acquired insulin resistance, T2DM, sometimes various neurological manifestations in different parts of the body, and even dementia. Personal mileage may vary, it really goes from 1 to 11.
thrusong 4y ago
After seeking medical help, my doctor did discover I had a critical B12 deficiency, but AFAIK there is no connection even though I had nerve damage from the B12 issues. Apparently a healthy number is 500+, most people will present with issues in the 250-300 range, and I was at 166 when critical is 144ish. I have to take a daily pill for the rest of my life and things have improved, but the VSS is still the same.
- garganzol 4y ago
  There is a connection. You can imagine a nerve as a cord and when it gets damaged even slightly the signal dropouts do occur. Just like an analog TV gets noisy when the coaxial cord or its connection gets subpar, the human visual field gets distorted in a similar way. You can apply that analogy to hearing problems (e.g. tinnitus) as well. For a long time we believed that when neurons die the condition stays forever and cannot be improved. However the consequent observations on WW2 veterans proved the opposite - neuro tissues do recover but they do so extremely slowly. If you had such a good response to B12 means that not all is lost. What you can try to achieve is to provide the conditions for faster neurological recovery: speed-up the cellular ATP production to provide the energy for anabolism while slightly suppressing the immune system response so it does not get in the way. You biological machinery will do the rest. The first part of the equation is reached with specific combinations of vitamins and coenzymes. For example, here is a combination that can serve as the basis: B1 in therapeutical doses (pills, >= 250 mg per day) + multivitamin. The second part of the equation is reached with NSAIDs. Such treatment may allow you to reach some notable improvements just in few months. And those improvements will persist and accumulate.
  - thrusong 4y ago
    I really appreciate this— I'll look into it!

shafyy 4y ago

After reading your comment, I looked up visual snow syndrome, and I think I have it, too. I guess not much one can do about it?

garganzol 4y ago
Search for Beriberi. This is a condition caused by a malnutrition. The end result is onset of an acquired mitochondrial dysfunction which leads to some degree of a neurological damage. There are various possible causes for acquiring a mitochondrial dysfunction beyond the malnutrition. The good news is that it can treated if it is not caused by a genetic defect. The treatment is similar to treating Beriberi, regardless of the original cause. The unpleasant part is that it takes some time and patience ranging from months to years.

danaos 4y ago

Did you get diagnosed by a professional? I suspect I suffer from the same rare symptoms but I am too affraid to ask an ophthalmologist on such a rare condition.

thrusong 4y ago
I don't have an official diagnosis, but I did see an optometrist because I was afraid I was going blind who said "I know exactly what you're describing." I then saw my GP who ordered an MRI to make sure it wasn't MS. The MRI found absolutely nothing. My eye doctor says my eyes are extremely healthy. My symptoms line up exactly with VSS and I had a lot of peace of mind knowing what I was experiencing and that I wasn't going blind, so I didn't pursue the proper further test (PET scan, I think). Honestly, the peace of mind was worth it, but be armed with research on it.
- danaos 4y ago
  Thank you! I will probably follow suit with my GP. It's always good to find people suffering from the same condition. Helps with managing your psychological issues.

PBnFlash 4y ago

I had never heard of visual snow, it's interesting that the symptoms seem to primarily be the brain not rejecting normal noise sources like floaters and white blood cells.

thrusong 4y ago
That's how I understand it, that it's some combination of interference getting into the nerves after the images are merged from the eyes, but also that the brain also doesn't filter out things that it normally does.