A Virginia woman who spent nearly a decade battling daily headaches says an unexpected TikTok comment helped uncover a condition that had gone undiagnosed despite multiple visits to eye specialists. Margo Shoaf, 35, from Chesapeake, Virginia, suffered from daily headaches for nine years, along with pain behind and around her right eye. "I thought I had the worst case of sinusitis," she told Newsweek.
Shoaf said she was examined by doctors and visited five optometrists over the years, but was repeatedly told that everything looked normal. She continued living with the symptoms, often attributing them to lack of sleep, dehydration, caffeine intake or allergies. Earlier this year, Shoaf posted a video showing herself with a hair clip attached to her eyebrow, thanking another woman for a migraine hack that had gone viral on TikTok.
She told Newsweek the trick appeared to suppress the pain, but what caught her attention was a comment left by an optometrist. The comment read: "Schedule a binocular vision evaluation with a behavioral optometrist who prescribes prism lenses." At first, Shoaf dismissed the suggestion. "Initially, I ignored the comment because my vision is fine," she said.
"I've had so many tests over the years, I thought surely someone would have figured that out already." However, after researching the condition, Shoaf learned that not all eye specialists test for it or have the equipment required to diagnose it. She eventually found a provider who offered the examination just three miles from her home. David Antonyan, the optometrist who commented on Shoaf's post, told Newsweek: "Routine eye examinations do not always include the specialized binocular vision testing needed to identify these problems.
"As a result, some patients can go years without having the underlying visual dysfunction recognized and may receive other diagnoses along the way while their symptoms continue." Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD) is a commonly overlooked condition that affects how the eyes work together, according to The New England College of Optometry (NECO). Even a slight misalignment can make it difficult for the brain to combine images properly, leading to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, balance problems and visual discomfort that can interfere with daily life. Antonyan, the president of Vivid Visions Optometry, Inc. in Valencia, California, told Newsweek that he believes many people who participated in the viral hair claw trick have undiagnosed BVD.
He said: "It truly breaks my heart seeing how many people are suffering without realizing that their eyes may be contributing to what they are experiencing. "I have spent years trying to bring more awareness to binocular vision dysfunction because there are people who have been searching for answers for a very long time." Shoaf said she specifically requested a binocular vision evaluation during her appointment. "The doctor said it's unusual when I asked for a binocular examination but agreed," she told Newsweek.
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