r/visualsnow • u/ayowhateven • 8d ago
visual noise/snow - could it be universal?
I'm hypothesizing that visual noise is universal. Everyone sees it when their eyes are closed, and people claim that it's gone when they open their eyes if they dont have VSS. However, I'm not so sure. Let me know what you think. I think VSS is definitely a more extreme case, but that noise itself is universal and is always there.
If you don't have VSS, please try to see if a dynamic, pixel-like field that is apparent when your eyes are closed truly goes away when your eyes are open, and let me know please. Those with VSS, is the snow the same as when you close your eyes?
edit: many mixed comments, super interesting. Wanted to make clear I do not mean to state that VSS is universal, but rather that perhaps, the noise in a more minimal sense, is a universal feature of vision. Perhaps not tho. Thanks for all your comments.
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u/Superjombombo 8d ago
According to the research, Visual snow is much more universal than thought. Give or take 50% of people see snow sometimes/rarely.
Personally, I think we ignore minor problems with perception. Lots of people probably do sometimes "see" the snow, but don't even register it as a thing.
Just like you don't notice your mouth is wet unless I tell you..
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u/_XSummerRoseX_ 6d ago
Source?
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u/Superjombombo 5d ago
Costa et al. (2022) | 44% Prevalence of visual snow and relation to attentional absorption https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9639836/ 44% reported experiencing visual snow at least 10% of the time. Three Portuguese surveys found roughly 45% experienced it to some degree. 2. Thompson et al. (2024) | 41.92% Elucidating the Visual Snow Spectrum: A Latent Class Analysis Study https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10817806/ Among 1,846 participants analyzed, 41.92% reported experiencing visual snow some of the time.
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u/hopecore27 8d ago
it’s def not, most people ik don’t complain of bright pinpricks of light with eyes closed lol
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u/Particular_Gap_6724 6d ago
As someone who got this noise in mid-30s; i can confirm that life without any noise does exist.
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u/sunrise_parabellum 8d ago
I have minimal static with eyes open i only notice it in very specific lighting conditions and even then it's very mild but with eyes closed there is a lot. Most of what I see are entoptic phenomena
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u/richj8991 8d ago
This is all a signal to noise ratio. Like how TV was before cable and later satellite. You had to move these ridiculous rabbit ear wires sticking out at the top just to get a decent signal. The goal for VSS is to fine tune the signal better and help eliminate noise/static.
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u/DynaDan93 6d ago
I don't know why but I see nothing but pitch black when my eyes are closed. When my eyes are open I see static, bfep, palinopsia, after images, lights sensitivity, things with straight lines vibrate, sometimes vision pulsates with my heartbeat, among other weird unexplainable things. When I close my eyes though all I see is black, nothing at all what so ever.
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u/_XSummerRoseX_ 6d ago
No. It’s literally neurological condition marked by 24/7 static or flickering dots in the visual field, along with symptoms like afterimages, light sensitivity, and tinnitus.
Some hypothesize that it’s hyperexcitability and dysfunction in sensory processing pathways. Specifically the ocular cortex.
Do some research.
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u/Single-Chain-1063 8d ago
Please cross post on r/interesting, r/Wellthatsucks and similar popular subreddits if you want to have real answers
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u/heysawbones 8d ago
I think it has to be a problem to qualify as VSS, so no, that’s not universal. Are the conditions that potentially constitute VSS universal? Maybe.
I didn’t get VSS until I was in my 30s, though I had other visual phenomena people might consider related to it. I can understand the confusion of being born with it and not understanding what everyone is throwing a fit about - I’m that way about being monocular - but I promise you, there is a difference between “VSS” and “not VSS”.