May 30 • 2019 45
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ED NAKFOOR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Vision Dysfunction

Microprism lenses help those 
suffering eye misalignment.

T

he checklist is lengthy: head-
aches, nausea, panic attacks, 
light sensitivity and difficulty 
balancing, among other symptoms. 
The tests are inconclusive. The 
answer is always the same: “It’
s all in 
your head.” 
Frustrated, some people go on for 
years, seeing their health deteriorate, 
looking for relief that never comes. 
But they, and their doctors, might be 
looking in the wrong place. 
Those symptoms could be signs 
of Binocular Vision Dysfunction 
(BVD), a difficult-to-diagnose con-
dition where the image one eye sees 
is slightly misaligned from the other. 
The body, then, corrects this mis-

alignment by overusing and severely 
straining the eye muscles. Over time, 
this strain causes symptoms of BVD, 
most of which are not traditionally 
thought to be associated with eye 
health. 
For Dr. Debby Feinberg, O.D., 
correcting BVD has been her mis-
sion since founding 
Bloomfield Hills-based 
Vision Specialists of 
Michigan 15 years ago. 
“Headaches, anxiety, 
uncoordinated move-
ments when running or 
walking, motion sick-
ness … all are potential 
symptoms of vision misalignment 

and only when they are considered 
as a cluster will we find vision mis-
alignment is the culprit,” Feinberg 
said. 
Because BVD affects at least 10 per-
cent of all adults, it’
s critical to test for 
even small amounts of misalignment 
in those suffering from chronic head-
aches, anxiety and discoordination.
“In the past, we’
d only check each 
eye for its visual acuity. What we’
re 
now doing additionally is checking 
to see how the eyes work together. 
This is called binocular vision. And 
any amount of misalignment, even 
the slightest, can lead to BVD,” she 
explained. 
Feinberg began diagnosing and 

treating BVD in 1995. In the years 
since, she and her colleagues have 
treated more than 10,000 patients, 
who experience, on average, an 80 
percent reduction in symptoms by 
prescribing microprism lenses. These 
lenses realign the images to the eyes, 
rather than having the eyes strain to 
achieve realignment.

PATIENT RELIEF
“Our patients are, quite literally, 
speechless when we give them their 
new lenses,” she added. “They feel 
better and are better able to concen-
trate and become more productive 
at work. ‘
If only I came to you first,’
 
they often say.” 

DAVID TRAVIS

Dr. Debby 
Feinberg

health