Visual Snow Syndrome

Persistent tiny flickering dots across the whole visual field

Overview

Visual snow syndrome is a neurological condition in which people continuously see tiny flickering dots, like the static of an untuned television, across their entire visual field. Diagnostic criteria require additional visual symptoms such as persistent afterimages called palinopsia, enhanced entoptic phenomena like floaters, light sensitivity, and impaired night vision. Tinnitus and migraine are frequently present as well. Eye examinations are typically normal, and research suggests altered processing in visual areas of the brain. The condition was formally characterized in the 2010s, and awareness has grown considerably since then.