Visual stress can cause problems with reading. It is sometimes also known as Meares/Irlen Syndrome. The effects can be varied such as a slow reading rate, missing words, words appearing jumbled, words appearing to move on the page, skipping lines etc. These visual stress symptoms can occur in those with or without dyslexia. These symptoms can affect the ability to read and performance at school, so understandably parents and children are often keen to explore all options to help relieve the effects.

If you suffer with visual stress, you may benefit from specific coloured overlays or tinted spectacle lenses (with or without prescription). Mr Marshall has been performing visual stress tests for over five years and will be happy to discuss the process with you. We have a set of computerised tests (painless and easy to perform!) that determine which specific colour is optimal for you and if it will ease the symptoms of visual stress. As part of the service, we will see you again after one month to check on your progress with any tint prescribed. Please get in touch if you require more information, or want to book an appointment. See below for one of our happy patients, Matthew, who has benefited from tinted lenses for visual stress.

Matthew first had a visual stress test in 2014 as he was having problems with words appearing distorted and struggling to focus when reading. A normal sight test revealed no real prescription and good vision. An initial visual stress test revealed a purple coloured overlay gave a 24% increase in reading speed. The tests also revealed that without the overlay, Matthew tended to skip lines when reading, as well as misreading words, but this was significantly reduced with the overlay. Due to the success and improvement Matthew moved on to tinted spectacles as they were more convenient. These gave an increase in reading rate of 29% and a reduction in mistakes made from eight to zero!

“I found the tests quite easy to do and it didn't take too long. The glasses help me when I'm reading the board or books up close, things are much more comfortable.”