Hillary Rodham Clinton's glasses reflect importance of neuro-optometry

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s newest eyewear is catching the attention of the media. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that Clinton would be wearing glasses rather than contacts for a while because of lingering issues that stemmed from a concussion.

“She sees just fine with them, and she also enjoyed some of the comments she saw in the press about the extra sort of diplomatic lift she gets from gesturing with them,” Nuland said, according to the U.S. Department of State’s website.

The new glasses have a special prism attached to the lens surface to aid in binocularity, keeping both eyes working together since her concussion in December.

Double vision is a frequent symptom of acquired brain injuries, said Dr. Stuart Mann, Chief of Pediatric Services for The Eye Care Center at Western University of Health Sciences. The patient might be seeing 20/20, but may have lost their eye teaming or focusing skills, tracking ability, and part of their visual fields. These can cause symptoms including difficulty focusing; reading difficulties including losing place and poor comprehension; eye strain; headaches; balancing problems; difficulty in sustaining attention and concentration; and poor eye-hand coordination.

“Diagnosing these types of vision problems requires more than the standard eye exam. Careful evaluation of eye teaming, focusing, tracking abilities, and as perceptual motor skills need to be evaluated, along with a thorough evaluation of ocular health, including visual fields and evaluation of the neurological pathways using electro-diagnostics,” Mann said. “Treatment can be as minimal as a new pair of glasses, (or go all the way up) to a program of Neuro-Optometric Vision Rehabilitation to regain those lost visual abilities.”