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Rob_in_Denver
    11/20/08 at 12:18 AM#1
Recently I had cataract surgery and developed a symptom called "dysphotopsia", which refers to unwanted and intrusive images that can accompany successful replacement of a cataract with an artifical lens (which is generally what is done these days in treatment of cataracts).  In my case, a day after the operation I noticed a dark arc in the periphery of my vision, along with weird glare effects and a sense of shimmering images in my visual field.

These artifacts turn out to be quite common, and many people are not bothered by them, and in those cases reach a point where they are no longer aware of them after some period of time.  Others obsess about them, thinking about them constantly and in those cases they tend to persist.

Does this sound a bit familiar?  For those interested, here's a discussion of dysphotopsia by an opthalmologist:
http://www.revophth.com/index.asp?page=1_643.htm

Note that he describes how one can adapt to the presence of these unwanted images to the point where one is no longer conscious of them.  To hammer home his point, he even references Dr. Nagler's famous "pants" analogy (sans attribution or credit).

The human nervous system is marvelous in its capacity for positive as well as (alas) negative plasticity.

Rob in Denver
DrNagler
    11/20/08 at 09:56 AM#2
Very interesting.  Lots of parallels with tinnitus.

smn
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