Reviewed By Dr. Jodi Kuhn
Reading time: 5 minutes
Are you dealing with eye strain, frequent headaches, or double vision?
These could be signs of a condition called Convergence Insufficiency (CI), which impacts how well your eyes work together to focus on close-up tasks.
Unlike myopia (nearsighted) or hyperopia (farsightedness), CI directly affects your eyes’ ability to align correctly.
In this blog, you will learn what CI is, its symptoms, and how an optometrist can help you.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaway
If you are experiencing blurry vision, frequent headaches, or persistent eye strain, book a comprehensive eye exam to identify the cause and get you back to clear, comfortable vision.
What is Convergence Insufficiency?
Convergence Insufficiency is a binocular vision disorder where your eyes struggle to work together when focusing on nearby objects.
Symptoms of CI include blurred vision, eye strain, and motion sickness. Though conditions like myopia and hyperopia affect distance and clarity, CI impacts eye alignment at close range.
The result? Your eyes feel tired, focusing on text becomes challenging, and you may even experience suppression of vision—where one eye “shuts off” to relieve discomfort.
Symptoms of Convergence Insufficiency
Individuals with CI often experience symptoms that affect everyday tasks.
- Blurry vision and double vision: Especially while reading or doing near tasks.
- Eye strain and headaches: From reading or using a computer.
- Motion sickness and depth perception issues: Poor judgment of distances and frequent mishaps.
- Avoidance of eye contact: Avoiding tasks that require sustained focus, such as sports.
- Frequent head tilt or poor posture: As your eyes attempt to compensate for poor alignment.
Symptoms of CI often overlap with other binocular vision issues, so an eye exam or a convergence insufficiency symptom survey is important for accurate diagnosis.
Causes of Convergence Insufficiency
Several factors can contribute to CI, each affecting how well your eyes can focus up close.
- Innervational differences and eye muscle strength: Differences in eye control or muscle coordination can limit the eyes’ ability to converge.
- Developmental factors in children: Convergence insufficiency is common in school-age children who are still developing strong eye coordination.
- Coordination of vergence movements: The components of vergence, like tonic vergence and accommodative vergences, must work together for comfortable vision.
Components of Vergence
The components of vergence refer to the different mechanisms our eyes use to align and focus on an object, especially at close distances.
When we look at something up close, our eyes need to “converge” or move inward, so both eyes focus on the same point.
Vergence has several components that work together to maintain clear and single vision, such as:
- Tonic vergence: The baseline alignment of the eyes when no visual stimulus is present. It reflects the eye muscles’ resting state and keeps the eyes generally aligned.
- Proximal vergence: The reaction of the eyes to the perception of how close an object appears. For instance, when an object comes nearer, the eyes converge more.
- Accommodative vergence: The convergence response that occurs in coordination with focusing, or “accommodation,” when viewing an object up close. As the eyes focus, they also adjust to align correctly.
- Fusional vergence: A fine-tuning mechanism that aligns the eyes to overcome any small misalignments between them, helping to maintain single vision by fusing two images into one clear image.
How Optometrists Diagnose Convergence Insufficiency
A complete vision exam can help diagnose CI and its associated symptoms.
Here are some common diagnostic signs eye care providers look for:
- Convergence insufficiency symptom survey: A clinical survey to evaluate CI severity.
- Ocular alignment tests: These tests measure eye movements and how well your eyes focus on close targets.
- Depth perception and binocular vision testing: Assessing depth perception and vergence eye movements can help confirm CI.
Standard eye exams may also include tests for myopia and hyperopia to compare symptoms and guide treatment, as convergence insufficiency often overlaps with these conditions.
Clinical signs such as retinal image disparity and limited convergence angle may indicate the need for further treatment.
Treatment Options for Convergence Insufficiency
If you have CI, several effective treatments can help reduce your symptoms.
- Pencil push-ups: Conventional convergence exercises, like focusing on a pencil as you bring it closer, help strengthen eye muscles.
- Prism glasses: Base-in or base-out prism glasses alter how light reaches the eyes, helping to align vision and reduce strain.
- Vision therapy: Also known as orthoptics, vision therapy combines active treatments, including vergence exercises, to improve eye coordination.
Living with Convergence Insufficiency
With CI you may need to adjust your daily routine to help ease your symptoms.
- Take regular breaks: Look away from close work and focus on distant objects to reduce eye strain.
- Practice office exercises: Try “pencil push-ups” or prism bar exercises regularly to build convergence strength.
- Be mindful of posture: Maintain good posture and avoid tilting your head to one side, as poor posture can worsen eye strain.
- Limit screen time: Too much screen time can increase eye strain.
Stay on Top of Your Eye Health – Visit Our Expert Eye Doctors
If you or your child are experiencing eye strain, blurry vision, or headaches, it is time for a comprehensive eye exam.
Book an eye exam with us today and take the first step toward sharper vision and lasting eye health — your eyes will thank you!If you are searching for an eye doctor that accepts Medicaid, you’re in the right place! We accept Medicaid at all of our locations. Call (303) 953-8801 to book an appointment in Denver, Aurora, Thornton or Hampden, or complete the online inquiry form.
