Hi. I am a 48 year old female, nearsighted (not mildly) and I have floaters, which have grown increasingly worse the last 1-2 months, to the point that reading is affected. About 1 week ago I began to notice multiple flashes in my peripheral vision, left eye. I first noticed them laying awake in the morning in bed (4:30 AM, pretty dark room). They were in the far left of my peripheral vision, reminding me of cameral flashes, alternating up and down. I did think it was unusual, never having seen anything like this before, and remembered my optometrist telling me not to be concerned about floaters she saw unless I began to see other symptoms, flashes being one of them. I have waited a week, they have not dissipated, sometimes worse than others. I did notice this morning that they're noticeable to me even in daylight now. I presume a visit to the opthamalogist is necessary. Of course, I decided to research these symptoms online, and apparently I could be in a situation that could result in loss of vision in my eye. Are these symptoms classic for retinal tears? By the way, headaches are not associated with these flashes.