Curious to know if anyone else has problems using binoculars and magnifying glasses. The use of either one, even for 5 seconds makes me extremely ācarsick.ā I love the outdoors and nature in general and more specifically bird watching - now that is out unless Iām looking a birds a mere 15 feet away.
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FWIW, my varifocals give me a slight āodd feelingā when looking from one extreme direction (up) to another (down). I think the brain struggles once you have a vestibular deficit. Itās nothing like as extreme a reaction that you talk about and only notice it occasionally.
Unfortunately the pre-MAV me didnāt have varifocals, so there is a possibility itās entirely the glasses fault, but I suspect not!
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Yep. I used to go birdwatching and also Iām a photographer nearly all outside photography work. All impossible with MAV or probably any severe balance disorder. Brain too visually dependent. Needs vision, general vision for balance. No spare capacity to incorporate changes needed for visual equipment. Often with balance issues just eyes being able to focus on horizon keeps people upright when al else falters. You can try a single lens, hand-held telescope. Might be better. Might also be worth checking your eyes for misalignment with hospital eye doctor. Unlikely but possible cause. With an existing history of balance issues itās far more likely IMHO to be coming from the balance disorder as above. After typing this I really noticed the āmagnifying glassā reference. Another point. Dysfunctional brains take much longer to adapt to sudden extreme changes in magnification than other brains. New prescription glasses have just recently knocked my balance and caused me motion sickness feelings for nearly a week before my brain got used to them. I know itās not possible to use a magnifying glass constantly for such a long period but if you can stick it out longer your eyes may adjust. If you can tolerate it long enough for them to fully refocus. I wear bifocals since long before MAV but recall being told to go to single use lens. Somehow I think that would give me the same symptoms. Brain wouldnāt tolerate the wider variation. Helen
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If Iām ever the slightest bit āoffā with the MAV I get that every time I move my eyes.
I was extremely surprised your brain accepted the Varifocals at all. I think that only goes to show your MAV symptoms came from a now virtually recovered ear injury and you arenāt a True, died in the wool, MAVer really. In fact youāve probably been lurking under false pretences all along! Shame on You! Helen
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I would guess this isnāt a common symptom then, based on receiving few responses. Iām in the middle of a large project transcribing letters and diaries from 100+ years ago and it is near impossible to do without the use of a magnifying glass, but for me itās near impossible to do with one. Iām amazed when I see people bird watching without a problem, Iām in awe wondering how can they do that.
Since this doesnāt seem to be a common symptom, maybe my problem is something other than MAV. I had an extremely thorough eye exam earlier this year, other than possible early glaucoma everything was pretty much normal. Not sure if a misalignment would have shown in this exam but it was very thorough.
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No, itās a super common MAV symptom. Itās just the weekend. And Motherās Day in the US. The idea of using a magnifying glass, microfiche, binoculars, bifocals, or a telescope with all that shifting of head position and focus makes me nauseous to even think about. Smart phones, screens and TVs are hard enough. Iām sure a lot of us feel that way, if not the vast majority. I know I donāt normally respond to this sort of post because the thought of it can bring me to a bad spot. Itās like when others put up pictures of scotoma. Why expose myself to a trigger?
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Bookworm, I absolutely have the same issue. Although I donāt use a magnifying glass, I do wear cheaters to read and work on the computerā¦ when I look up from my computer at someone who has summoned me at my office I get all kinds of dizzy feeling. I have to remember to take my glasses off first, which I tend to forget.
I also love competitively shooting guns, I have not been able to use a scope on my rifle since MAV.
Reneeā, how do you handle the noise? I wore earplugs and sunglasses to the symphony yesterday and walked in with Fioricet in my system. (Because the last time all the visual noise of our gorgeous theater, milling crowd, smell of the ink in the programs, perfume, watching the strings move up and down and the uneven impact on my ears from sitting too close to the wall gave me the nauseous dizzies so bad it took days to recover.) If I canāt handle Wagner from the mezzanine, how can you shoot a rifle?
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Hi Emily, the symphony sounds so much scarier to me than shooting 
I didnāt shoot for about 12 months, but started with being an observer with my electronic noise cancelling headphones, then moved slowly back into shooting. The electronic noise cancelling headphones are miraculousā¦ they literally shut out any noise above a certain decibel but allow you to hear low level sounds. I also think a big one for me is that when I am shooting, I know what to expect and when, so my brain isnāt suprised. I mean, I literally cannot handle when my husband uses the ice dispenser in his Yeti metal cup but can handle shooting with my noise cancelling headphones no problem 
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Ha! Ok, so I need noise cancelling headphones for the symphony. I already look like a freak. Might as well go whole hog. I LIKE the symphony. I was in choir for most of my educational years including college. I usually forget to listen to the music and just sort of drift. I run a business and have two teenagers in my house. I donāt get much chance to drift in my own thoughts. Thatās worth the price of admission, unless MAVās being a dick.
Not that itās related to anything at all, but I was born in Springfield, MO. My dad was attending the Baptist Bible College. Iāve lived rural more often than not. My husband set up a little range for his pellet rifle in our basement. But he grew up on 40 acres of Everglades swampland so what did I expect? Yesterday, before the symphony, my husband and I rode his motorcycle down to a greasy spoon, then kayaked on the Foss Waterway in Tacoma then went all cultural. (Cultural if you count the flask of whiskey he produced from some jacket pocket and sipped on all during Ode to Joy. God I love that man.)
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I wear bifocals, the bottom part is very helpful for computer work but because I have to crane my neck backwards too far to see out of the bottom i take them off (I have a BAD neck, very painful). My doctor gave me a prescription for the entire glass to be for close up which is much more comfortable on my neck, no more craning. BUT that didnāt even last a day as I did what you did and looked up without taking them off. I felt so sick for the rest of the day, nearly had to leave work.
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Iām glad to know Iām not alone, not that I want others to suffer though. Funny (well, not really funny, but interesting) that you say the thought of it can bring you to a bad spot, because just the thought of a lot of things can bring me to a bad spot. Therefore my doctor tells me that since I am able to make myself feel motion sickness just by thinking about it, itās all from anxiety, no physical cause for my problem. So frustrating, as I know it is not anxiety.
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Nope, your doctor hasnāt a clue.
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I totally get it! I canāt use the bifocals for the same reason of craning my neck. Iāve had neck issues since 3 car accidents really messed my neck up and of course the typical MAV neck ache which seeems so common. Visual triggers are probably the most maddening since there seems to be no āsureā escape from them.
Emily, you & I and our hubs would get along great! We live rural but I work in the city, love coming home every day. I travel to LA and NYC fairly often for work and canāt wait for my rural life when I get back home 
It amazes me that you can ride the motorcycle! Iāve not even thought of trying since MAV. Maybe someday soon Iāll try it out! I love it that you power through so much and refuse to let MAV steal your joyā¦ itās what we absolutely must do!
It does help considerably my husband Kevin got me back rest (bitch seat) and some stylish biking gear. And Iāve gotten kinda fat so Iām sort of wedged in there like a tick behind him. God bless that man for thinking a big woman taking up all the room is luscious. But, Iām not as dizzy as I used to (please God, donāt give that back to me). I find a Meclizine usually steadies me enough. Kevin wants me to get a motorcycle - ads appear in my inbox with names like ālil rebelā, ādoodlebugā and ābaby bergieā in reference to both the smallish nature of the bikes heās trying to tempt me with and my short stature (5ā3ā on a tall day). I keep mentioning the whole MAV thing. He has such misplaced confidence in me.
But, then, of course, I go out kayaking so he figures it must be all good. Hereās a fact: you canāt actually fall off a sit in kayak. And Iāve got the wherewithal not to roll the boat and fall in to the ocean. Scary sea creatures live there. Perhaps if I fall in theyāll notice how many of their tasty brethren Iāve eaten and choose to even it up a bit.
We live small town in a larger metropolis now. A town called Sumner in Washington state where you can know all your neighbors and the kids walk to school. We have access to the big city stuff in Tacoma or Seattle but arenāt required to live that way. My business caters to all rural and small municipalities. Iām in farm country, the forest, the mountains, the back roads all the time. I donāt work anywhere with more than 25,000 people (in the whole huge county); three of my client towns are under 700 and another three are in the 9,000 range.
My business is all about relationships and service. I donāt have clients so much as extended family to whom Iām devoted. (Back before they managed to fall apart completely, my dad was a minister and my mom a social worker - of course their oldest daughter would take up a life of public service. They lost their way. Mine was set.)
See? Life is just so good. 
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The eyes need to have access to the horizon or at least to a fixed point to maintain balance. However with luck, and probably meds, it can and does improve.
Yesterday was the most glorious late Summerās Day, clear blue sky and full sun from dawn til dusk and really warm. After walking out over harvested wheat fields we sat in the garden drinking tea and watching a pair of Red Kites in turn hunting, flying and feeding over the fields behind our house for a good half hour. I managed to use both binoculars briefly and a spotting scope. I even managed to follow a Kite in-flight with the binoculars. Helen
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Helen, what youāve described is such a perfect day 
So lovely!
Also so incredible that youāve been able to use the binoculars on a moving target!
I have not tested myself with the rifle scope yet but will let you all know how it goes when I do.
Something Ivāe not seen mentioned is how the vertigo affected me in regards to heights. I would get SO DIZZY (before meds) on stairs, balconies, highway overpasses etc. Anywhere high off the ground. Thank God that is gone now, or calmed with meds 
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The bins on a moving target was no problem. Kites donāt fly particularly fast on warm sunny days, they use thermals. Worst part, with the scope - I could cope with the heat rising from the ground when birds were down and the slight wobble of the viewfinder, stepping down off the block Him Indoors had to place so I could reach the scope in the first place. He kinda forgot how much taller he is than me!