Acoustic stimuli

Definite persistent aura without infarction

"I don't know about noise in general... my vision gets worse when things are noisy and busy, but I'm not sure if that's the noise itself or just the anxiety that goes up with things being noisy and busy. Like right now I'm stuck at the airport (LaGuardia - fun), it's really noisy, and my vision is really snowy. But I'm also tired, and stuck at the airport for another long while... good times."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - Discussion - My doc asked me to ask you..., December 2, 2007)

"I have always noticed a worsening of symptoms in noisy places, but I've always attributed that to increased anxiety from being in a noisy place. I suppose it would be hard to separate the two. Loud music gives me stress anyway."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Email to Klaus Podoll, December 9, 2007)

"I avoid loud situations whenever possible. My VS will even flash in synch with loud music. Very annoying."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - Loud Music?, March 29, 2008)

jruddy [subject #515], Persistent afterimages before hearing loud techno music, 2008. "There's a very faint afterimage of the black middle buttons in the first image." © 2008 jruddy (larger image see here)

jruddy [subject #515], Worsening of persistent afterimages whilst hearing loud techno music, 2008. © 2008 jruddy (larger image see here)

"And, more self-experimentation results!

I put on some loud music - I'd call it techno, but I really don't know what the kids would call it today, kind of like what I imagine rave music is like. Not really my cup of tea.

After a few minutes I did notice a bit of mind-fog, then afterimages were worse. I didn't notice any difference in VS. I did twitch a little more - not even in time to the music... lol... I noticed that while I was trying to come to terms with what was happening my train of thought kept pausing every few seconds. At first I'd lose what I was thinking all together - even mid word, but eventually I was able to hold onto the thought and catch it again after a brief pause of a second or two.

Weird eh? I think it's pretty neat. If only I had MPD so I'd have some friends to show this to, first hand...

It's too bad I don't feel like I can share this with my doctor - I expect he'd just look at me funny. I CAN'T imagine why... it doesn't sound crazy at all..."

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Visual/Audible Stimulation, February 20, 2008)

"Understand, these tests I'm doing are highly subjective, meaning, not objective, and not really scientifically relevant - just a bit of fun and curiosity.

I was interested to see if I saw more snow. Nope, just remote control buttons every where (afterimages...)"

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Visual/Audible Stimulation, February 20, 2008)

"Understand, I normally get afterimages on high contrast objects since getting VS. When this episode happened, the contrast threshold for afterimages seemed to drop and the lenghth of time to recover increased. So on the remote, only the black buttons would normally give me a quick, mild after image."

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Visual/Audible Stimulation, February 21, 2008)

"I have had worse after images with loud music though the VS stayed the same. I try to avoid loud noises and music.

I've had depersonalisation with loud noisy environments since getting VS, but I'm not sure if this is triggered directly by a physical response to the noise or is secondary to a psychological response or has something to do with the Topamax."

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - Loud Music?, March 30, 2008)

jruddy [subject #515], Lamp light on ceiling seen against usual level of visual snow, 2008. "Standard Evening VS." © 2008 jruddy

jruddy [subject #515], Transitory worsening of intensity of visual snow and autokinesis induced by acoustic stimuli, 2008. "Worse VS and wobbly lamp shine on ceiling with audio stimulation. It didn't need to be very loud tonight. I normally listen in bed at lower volume with noise cancelling headphones on. Turning the noise cancelling off doesn't make a difference either. My tired mind can't figure out how to get the VS to dance and the light to wiggle at the same time..." © 2008 jruddy

"Confirmation of relationship between sound and my VS.

I was relaxing, listening to an audio book and I had the volume up much higher than usual.

I was laying down and there was a pattern on the ceiling from one of the lamps. It was dancing/wiggling/vibrating. I thought maybe the filament was going in the lamp (it is an old incandescent bulb) and asked my wife if the pattern was moving, she said no and actually showed a rare bit of pity for me.

She complained that she could hear the audio book so I turned the volume down and shortly after the light pattern on the ceiling stopped dancing/wiggling/vibrating.

Intrigued I turned the volume back up, and almost immediately the pattern started dancing/wiggling/vibrating again.

The time was around 9:45 p.m., when my VS is usually bad anyways. I did notice the second time that my VS did get courser/grainier with the louder audio stimulation.

Shortly afterwards my wife turned out her lamp (such is life with two small boys) and the experimenting ended.

This supports my previous experiment with loud techo music and increased after images. I do seem to have some kind of connection between audio stimulation and VS.

Now, how do I tell my Neurologist this... and will he care?

Edit - I was having increased myoclonic jerks with the louder noise as well. I really do wonder if Migraine and Epilepsy are more brother and sister than distant cousins..."

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - Confirmation of relationship between sound and my VS, April 6, 2008)

"Lamp light on ceiling - regular [here].

Lamp light on ceiling - high octane - (or high volume) (IMG reference removed for everyone's health and safety... ugh...) link is below [here] for the brave and curious... It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. The amplitude is a bit exaggerated, but not by much but enough that I feel like fixing it and the snow shouldn't really be moving with the lamp, at least not that I noticed but I can't figure out how to fix that. I think some migraine/VS sufferers here would say there is something quite familiar and migraine-like about it though, but I can't put my finger on it.

Maybe it's the speed of the movement?

Bleh, I feel ill! ha ha...!!!

Updated image is below [here]. It is much more accurate and much less vomit inducing... though the snow doesn't do the 'snow' thing... and I forgot to change the graininess in this version... rats..."

(jruddy [subject #515], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - Confirmation of relationship between sound and my VS, April 8, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

Possible persistent aura without infarction

"Yes, I actually experience the worsening of my symptoms with noise... it doesn't even have to be loud noise. When my coworkers are carrying on several different conversations at once in different parts of the office, my reading on the computer monitor and paper become worse...

Concerts, theaters, and parties have all made the symptoms intensified over the past few years, so I have just been avoiding those scenes. We even go to restaurants only when there are no crowds."

(ChelleWMCN [subject #272], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - My doc asked me to ask you..., November 29, 2007)

"I don't just have visual snow, which is why I refer to my phenomenon as visual distortion. I see the snow... I see rain... I see clouds and fog swirling... I see flickering, flashing, and blobs. I see trails and speckles and shadows. I can even see the wind shear from passing vehicles. My vision is so distorted, I wish I was blind. Although, who knows what I would see then.

If I was to give my distortion a baseline number, it would be increased by two to four for quiet noise and tenfold to twenty fold for loud noise. Bangs and pops cause bright flashes and loud jets cause reverberations... not good living on an Air Force Base. Sometimes when I am typing, just the clicks of the keys cause my vision to jerk/bounce in time with the keystrokes... explains why my job is so difficult and why I am hardly ever online. I can only stand about ten minutes at a time reading and writing on this board.

I don't see the pitch of noise causing any difference in the distortions... just the volume."

(ChelleWMCN [subject #272], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - My doc asked me to ask you..., November 29, 2007)

"Yes noise makes my visual symptoms worse, particularly first thing in the morning."

(Janey [subject #282], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - My doc asked me to ask you..., November 29, 2007)

"Yes my VS does intensify with noise. I'm extremely sensitive to sound and smell, as many of us are. I first noticed this change when I was startled by a door slamming, which made me jump. When I did everything intensified and bright lights flashed (I normally have 'fireflies' in my visual field). However, in every day life I'm not sure if the noise causes increased VS or my sensitivity to the noise frustrates me, stressing me out and then my VS intensifies. External stimuli really bother me."

(HeidiB [subject #372], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General Discussion - My doc asked me to ask you..., November 29, 2007)

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