Hi all. I have had concussion since August, after a fall when I banged my head. Although improving, I have a problem with bright light/glare

[Braininfo]

As above - I had a fall in August and banged my neck, chin.

I am improving but can't deal with light (as in a bright sky), or glare. I also have difficulty when there is a lot of noise (as in grandchildren!). I can't wear earphones....

Does anyone know of research into coloured lenses and how certain tints may help with sensitivity to light?

Thanks

[pinkvision]

Hi, yes, I went through this process. Don't waste your time going to the GP to get a referral because the NHS does not deal with this issue (as far as I know from my experience).

For colored tint screening you need to see an optometrist, you could try irlenuk.com/

You could also find somewhere that does Cerium visual technology tests ceriumvistech.com/

There's a registered list of optometrists who provide services (most will not have neuro experience, so ask them first), babo.co.uk/

Cardiff University opticians have optometry screening (the uni teaches optometry) cardiff.ac.uk/optometrists

There's something to consider when going down this route, I found tinted lenses corrected visual processing issues but it did not solve my light sensitivity.

Visual processing and light sensitivity are two totally different things.

I found that by avoiding direct sunlight and LED lighting my light sensitivity reduced.

I also found transition lenses (neutral grey) helped with direct sunlight, but they did not work with LED lights or computer/phone screen lighting.

Avoid LED lights as much as possible, for screen lighting you may find buying a screen or device that has a high refresh rate will help, most computers refresh at 60Hz, gaming screens are 144 + Hz. Get a gaming device, but remember the higher the refresh rate the brighter the screen so you may have to get a neutral grey OFF screen filter to reduce the brightness.

You may find some things help and others make you worse, but unless you go through the process you won't know what is what. If you find something does not make a difference try something else.

[Shreds]

As PV says, the higher fresh rates on some screens are worth investigating and with this speak to a local photography club to see if they have or can assist in calibrating the screen correctly. This can make getting the correct brightness for your eyes. The more advanced ones are really good (x-rite and datacolour spyder are two such products but try to borrow one as they are expensive to buy. Some monitor screens also are better than others. Its explained better here:-

cambridgeincolour.com/tutor...

[haverfordwest]

Hi, I changed my glasses to tinted ones which help a lot but what is better is sunglasses with my prescription lens in, they are bigger than normal glasses so keep out more light. A baseball cap or anything with a peak is also a big help especially when going into anywhere with bright lighting. As for noise, whether it is kids, conversations, music, tv, machinary etc I still have to distance my self from it and I am now 5 years on from TBI. Hope you find a solution soon.

[Braininfo in reply to haverfordwest]

Thanks for the information