Eye Teaming - Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment

Introduction

Eye teaming, also known as vergence, is an ocular (related to eyes) phenomenon in which both eyes focus on a particular object with precision and coordination. In other words, it is the eye's ability to move inward and outward simultaneously. Good eye teaming allows looking at an object sustainably and forms the basis for good depth perception.

What Is Binocular Vision?

Binocular vision is described as a vision in which both eyes perceive the same three-dimensional object that helps in giving a better depth perception. Apart from depth perception, there are several other advantages of binocular vision:

• It provides a broader field of view. For example, the human eye has 190 degrees of the horizontal field of view, out of which a 120-degree view is provided by binocular vision.

• It helps in breaking the camouflage of another creature due to depth perception.

How Do Eyes Focus on Objects?

There is a change in the eye's focus while viewing nearby and distant objects. While viewing faraway objects, the eye muscles relax, and the pupil dilates; however, while viewing nearby objects, the eye muscles contract, and the pupils constrict. This mechanism helps focus the single object with both eyes—the focus defect results in defective vision.

The eyes of a human being perform various activities, such as:

• Pursuit movements, where the eyes scan for more information.

• Tracking of objects is also a type of pursuit movement.

• Focusing on something while walking or jumping is a form of saccadic eye movement.

• Coordination movements where coordination between the eyes and the hands develop during the movement of hands.

What Is Eye Tracking?

Eye tracking is a child's motor skill that facilitates faster and more precise eye movements. It improves in children with age and accounts for frequently occurring eye problems in more than 75 percent of children, along with eye teaming defects. Defects in the tracking problem can result in the following:

• Slower movements of the eye muscles.

• Inaccurate reading.

• Defective comprehensive skills of a child.

• Difficulty in performing sports activities.

What Are Problems Associated With Eye Tracking?

Defects in eye tracking can lead to several problems, such as:

• Defects in reading lines that are close together may lead to skipping the lines.

• Drowsiness or sleepiness while reading.

• Confusion between words while reading.

• Need to use a marker or ruler while reading.

• Worse comprehensive ability during reading.

• Occurrence of careless errors while doing precise work.

• Behavior problems.

• Lack of attention amongst children.

Children are most commonly affected by a lack of eye teaming or vergence. Approximately five to ten percent of children have impaired eye teaming.

Does 20/20 Vision Mean Normal Eye Teaming and Tracking?

Eye teaming and tracking cannot be diagnosed with a simple eye examination. Having 20/20 eyesight does not guarantee excellent or normal eye teaming and tracking movements. Children with 20/20 vision can also suffer from tracking and teaming problems.

What Are the Symptoms of Impaired Eye Teaming?

The exact cause of defective eye movements is not known. However, it is thought that miscommunication between the eyes and the brain results in problematic eye teaming—the ability of the eyes to show vergence decreases with age.

In patients with impaired binocular vision, both eyes focus on different objects, and the focus gets disturbed. This further results in confusion. Other symptoms of impaired eye teaming include:

• Double vision (a condition in which two images of an object will be viewed).

• Headaches.

• The blurring of vision.

• Increased eye strain, especially while reading or working on the computer for long hours.

• Squinting (a condition where both eyes look in different directions).

• Excessive blinking.

• Loss of concentration.

• Pulling sensation while reading.

• Eye tiredness.

• Motion sickness (sickness caused during motion while traveling).

What Are the Major Complications of Impaired Eye Teaming?

Vergence impairment affects a child's eyesight and diminishes the child's overall quality of life. It affects the following:

• Child's confidence.

• Child's school performance.

• Reading ability.

There are two principal problems associated with loss of eye teaming, they are:

• Convergence Insufficiency: Convergence insufficiency is the ability of the eyes to move outwards while reading or focusing on a single object.

• Convergence Excess: Both eyes move inwards while doing minute work in convergence excess.

• Strabismus or Cross Eyes: Both eyes do not line up together in this condition.

How Is Eye Teaming Treated?

The major objective of an ophthalmologist in treating eye teaming defects is to correct the eye defect by not interfering twitch the child's normal routine. The three effective treatment options that can be adopted to manage the condition in children are:

• Glasses.

• Vision therapy.

• Surgery.

The final therapy choice is based on the child's physical, ocular, and psychological symptoms. Initially, the defect in each eye is corrected separately, followed by therapy to integrate both eyes' functions.

Vision therapy is a personalized therapy program to correct vision-motor and perceptual-cognitive disorders. The treatment aims at improving the brain's ability to restore:

• Alignment of the eye.

• Eye teaming and tracking.

• Focusing abilities.

• Processing of the vision.

• Motor functions of the eye.

In children suffering from vergence problems, an optometrist conducts the vision therapy sessions weekly, followed by home assignments. The professional assignments are conducted for about forty minutes.

Eye-tracking skills improve in children with an increase in age. Children with developmental or mental issues and defects in eye-tracking skills do not overcome the condition. According to a study conducted in Israel, there is a strong connection between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and eye tracking and teaming eye defects.

Vergence defects, if diagnosed early, can be corrected in children. However, some children may require glasses or contact throughout their life for reading.

Conclusion

Eye teaming defects are visuomotor defects affecting the convergent ability of the eyes, especially in children. Vergence defects not only affect the vision of a child it also severely impairs the child's self-confidence. It often remains undiagnosed as children are hesitant to talk about the condition. Regular eye examination with follow-up helps in managing the condition. Vision therapy provides individualized treatment to the patient.