alt Hacker NewsOver the years I have seen a few threads on tinnitus. I have it very mildly and doesn’t bother me much. On the other hand I have had “floaters” in my eyes since I was a teenager (probably just when I noticed them). Until I saw a doc I thought I was going blind but apparently they run in my family. They are like visual tinnitus and my god do they drive me crazy. I find wearing sunglasses helps me ignore them but they can be brutal. I am a big skier and in flat light they drive me bonkers. Not sure I have seen these discussed here but maybe I missed it.
Replies
Have both. Also had floaters since at least teen years. Neither bother me substantially although I think I have lost most of 8 kHz volume in my left ear and have tinnitus that I think matches that frequency.
You know what does bother me?
The scintillating scotoma as well as retinal migraine symptoms, the former starting in middle school and latter in my 20s. Fortunately neither is frequent now but damn I used to break into a cold sweat with either and to this day am a bit reluctant to drive because of both.
As someone with both as well, yeah they are there but really they don't bother me.
I cannot change them so I don't worry about them, they are just little my little floating jelly blobs friends that visit when I am at my computer.
I had floaters for years, they slowly disappeared. Occasionally start coming back again and disappear. When they disappear, I initially kinda miss them, because I start using them as stopwatch. Just spent 5 mins checking; I don't have any right now. I really think I would enjoy having one or two of different sizes and speeds, permanently. I guess that's just wishing for a superpower.
Anecdotal but I heard some people with autoimmune issues have their floaters go away when they change their diet in a way that improves the autoimmune symptoms.
Start eating pineapple, you will be surprised of the effect on the floaters.
also have floaters. there have been moments in life where i overfixated on them for a month or two at a time and would think theyre getting worse. and then i would get busy with something (like having a child) and i would forget about this problem entirely and then randomly remember they exist. the brain is very good at ignoring things.
That stinks, sorry to hear.
It's mentioned when tinnitus comes up, or when dark mode isn't available. Couple months ago, someone recommended a supplement that it seems could easily(?) be DIY'd in case it's snake oil (even if it's more expensive, then they don't "win"!) :)
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
I have both as well. Floaters are mildly annoying, but at least when you lie in bed at night you don't see them in the dark.
I've had them all my life. I remember watching a some video a few years back that said they're more noticeable against a bright/white background, which checked out with my past experiences. And judging by your skiing comment, probably for yours as well!
I have the same problem. Some good mitigations are dark mode on the computer and using very dark, yellow/brown alpine sunglasses in bright sun.
Same, tinnitus and floaters. And the number of others with both makes me wonder if they are correlated.
I've lived with my floaters for twenty years or more, but sometime on a recent holiday the biggest one moved slightly to obscure the central vision on one eye much more often. Now when a floater in the other eye drifts onto the central area, I just can't focus. I have to flick my eyes to the side hundreds of times a day, and it's annoying enough that I'm considering a vitrectomy.