Visual Snow

[_Only]

I don't know if this forum area is a good fit for this question, but I really couldn't find a good area.

I've noticed a long time ago that I see a form of static all of the time. Kind of like the static you see on a TV channel that's lost (of course, not nearly as severe). I see it all of the time, but it's very easy to notice in the dark, or eyes shut. Was thinking about it today, and looked a little online, and see it is called visual snow.

Just wondering if anyone else sees this, and if anyone has any more information on why I might be seeing it. I got the general idea that this hasn't been recognized as any form of medical condition yet, so kind of hard to get information on what could really cause it.

Edited March 21, 2012 by _Only

[ROGER]

A good question. I always assumed it was just the random firing of the visual neurons. Some folks doing sensory deprivation experiments see this allot. Or so I have read.

[_Only]

I felt better when I saw some say it didn't seem an eye issue.

Felt a bit worse when some thought it could be a neurological issue.

[Simbi Laveau]

I have it,but only at certain times.mine looks like swirls in ky peripheral vision usually.You don't want my explantion for what i think mine is.It sounds different from yours,and mine didn't happen until 2005 for me.

[_Only]

It looks like this:

Not to that degree, but in darkness it gets pretty damn close.

I'm fairly certain when and how mine started. Cheap thrills often come with a higher price.

Edited March 23, 2012 by _Only

[Simbi Laveau]

It looks like this:

Not to that degree, but in darkness it gets pretty damn close.

I'm fairly certain when and how mine started. Cheap thrills often come with a higher price.

Not even remotely what i see.

Do you see this all the time ?Its rather disquieting to thinjk of seeing that all the time .

Do you also have floaters ?

Id just check it out with an opthamalogist .

Also,in chinese medicine,that would be considered a liver excess of some kind .

If it were me,id do a liver detox too .Id guess you have incredible amts of stress as well. I mean more than the average american .

Try drinking kombucha tea and or eating kefir yogurt .

The kombucha tunes the liver right up .Kefir ,given its dairy,is not as detoxifying ,and is for wimpy ppl who cannot do kombucha.

[_Only]

It's really not all that bad, but I'm led to believe by others accounts that, like many things, there is varying degrees of severity.

I really feel I have been able to pin it, from when it started, to a symptom of HPPD. Actually would have it pinpointed to the day. But who knows. Study on things like this haven't really been held, and questions and guesses are abundant. But from what I've gathered, it isn't a problem with the eye, but a neurological one.

I do have other odd things that go along with this. Mainly tracers (wave hand in front of face and get a blurred trail).

But again, it doesn't really bother me. I just find it really interesting. Am hoping at least one other person here knows personally what I'm talking about when I say "visual snow".

Edited March 23, 2012 by _Only

[bouncer]

yeh I do, while Ive mentioned it to about 2 people in all my life, Ive always seen it, from being a kid I could see it.. Its in front and around anything too. OK its not distracting, I can see what I want just fine, but if I look between me and the object Im looking at, I can try focus on it and see it, But as with your TV gif, its tiny, almost microscopic, and very busy, ie you couldn't single out just one dot as the whole lot is moving to quick

I used to use brainwave entrainment goggles to..entrain my brainwaves...for relaxation, meditation, trance..stuff like that...essentially 2 lights flash over the closed eyes at a rhythm that corresponds to a brainwave frequency you choose, at high alpha or beta....the pulsed lights would be the nearest Ive got to seeing this 'snow' in color.. but it wasnt the snow it was the lights, but the mental visuals were just the same

could it be brainwave related instead?

But yeh fully agree, I thought I could see the atoms themselves

[Simbi Laveau]

yeh I do, while Ive mentioned it to about 2 people in all my life, Ive always seen it, from being a kid I could see it.. Its in front and around anything too. OK its not distracting, I can see what I want just fine, but if I look between me and the object Im looking at, I can try focus on it and see it, But as with your TV gif, its tiny, almost microscopic, and very busy, ie you couldn't single out just one dot as the whole lot is moving to quick

I used to use brainwave entrainment goggles to..entrain my brainwaves...for relaxation, meditation, trance..stuff like that...essentially 2 lights flash over the closed eyes at a rhythm that corresponds to a brainwave frequency you choose, at high alpha or beta....the pulsed lights would be the nearest Ive got to seeing this 'snow' in color.. but it wasnt the snow it was the lights, but the mental visuals were just the same

could it be brainwave related instead?

But yeh fully agree, I thought I could see the atoms themselves

you too ?

Damn....

[Simbi Laveau]

It's really not all that bad, but I'm led to believe by others accounts that, like many things, there is varying degrees of severity.

I really feel I have been able to pin it, from when it started, to a symptom of HPPD. Actually would have it pinpointed to the day. But who knows. Study on things like this haven't really been held, and questions and guesses are abundant. But from what I've gathered, it isn't a problem with the eye, but a neurological one.

I do have other odd things that go along with this. Mainly tracers (wave hand in front of face and get a blurred trail).

But again, it doesn't really bother me. I just find it really interesting. Am hoping at least one other person here knows personally what I'm talking about when I say "visual snow".

*raises eyebrow*

Really...

Well it may well be neurological,but given a large part of your symptoms are visual,go buy some kombucha tea.

Synergy brand rocks.Buy a few,drink about 1/3rd of a bottle a day.

Just the tree huggers bit o advice.

I knew Glenn Danzig btw.I mean I still do,but I dont really talk to him anymore.

I've met Jerry,but I dont know him at all.

Im still friends with Eerie and Damian(samhain),and I grew up in the same neighborhood as Howie Pyro.

Well hes a bit older than I am,but I know him very well .

[sweetn_low]

I haven't posted anything here in a long time but I like to lurk and read I have to say I am surprised that the OP describes what I see every day. I was actually a little worried that something was wrong with me. I have noticed this "snow" for a quite a few years now. I notice it is strongest when I am either in a very dim room or when I am in a room that is lit by artificial lights and no daylight. My bathroom is the worst for me because it is lit by florescent lighting and there are no windows. I can still see details just fine but I notice a very visible static distortion. It as if I can see the individual particles that everything is made of. It is a little unsettling but I have grown accustomed to it as well. I don't notice it as strong when I am outside in daylight but it is still there in a very mild way. I had my eyes checked regularly and everything checks out just fine. I was on an SSRI (antidepressant) years ago and I sometimes wonder if it is the cause of this issue even though I have been off it for years. I tend not to trust those types of medications anymore!

[Sp3ctre]

I haven't posted anything here in a long time but I like to lurk and read I have to say I am surprised that the OP describes what I see every day. I was actually a little worried that something was wrong with me. I have noticed this "snow" for a quite a few years now. I notice it is strongest when I am either in a very dim room or when I am in a room that is lit by artificial lights and no daylight. My bathroom is the worst for me because it is lit by florescent lighting and there are no windows. I can still see details just fine but I notice a very visible static distortion. It as if I can see the individual particles that everything is made of. It is a little unsettling but I have grown accustomed to it as well. I don't notice it as strong when I am outside in daylight but it is still there in a very mild way. I had my eyes checked regularly and everything checks out just fine. I was on an SSRI (antidepressant) years ago and I sometimes wonder if it is the cause of this issue even though I have been off it for years. I tend not to trust those types of medications anymore!

I also have this exact same thing, although personally I do not see it as anything bad. I have had it all of my life and see it everywhere, though it does not impair my vision in any way. I have 20/20 sight and have never had any eye problems in my life.

Now my personal thoughts on this, though it may at first sound strange, are that we are actually seeing atoms.. I mean as humans of course our eyes are accustomed to seeing the atoms around us as objects, but maybe we are actually seeing the air particles inbetween those objects? It just seems to make sense to me and feels right when I think of it in that way.

[Sp3ctre]

Oh, I also wanted to add, these particles seem to move when I wave my hand in front of my vision, does this happen with you? It also seems to have depth, as to say some particles are close and some are distant.

[Rlyeh]

Here is some information on visual snow; http://neuronresearch.net/vision/clinical/snowyvision.htm

[karmakazi]

I've seen visual snow as long as I can remember and I've also found the best description to be like static on a tv. Definitely more obvious in lower light and if I'm focusing intently (on a computer or writing or similar activities) I don't notice it as much as when I'm just biding my time and staring.

I've assumed it was natural fluctuations in the rods and cones, as a way of them working and relaxing systematically so they aren't all constantly expending energy. It seemed like it could be a similar function to the effect of staring at something long enough to see a negative image on a white surface. But that is just my thoughts on it, I could be way off on the cause.

[karmakazi]

Oops sorry about kicking up an old thread.