Does playing woodwind instruments worsen myopia in children?

[hei213]

I played the clarinet for 12 years or so, sometimes hours a day. Out of curiosity I read about this and found some studies that claim that eye pressure temporarily increase during play.
Does this IOP elevation mean worsening of myopia?

[JohnHaganMD]

Short answer NO Longer answer. No controlled studies.   Summary NO PROBLEM

[hei213]

Thank you for your answer once again, Doctor. I sense you started to get tired of my BS though :D

[JohnHaganMD]

Not at all. Sorry if you felt that was the case.

[hei213]

I didn't, but I imagine you get a lot of nonsense on these forums.

One more thing though if you don't mind - what would you say about the possible damage to the retina after those years of play due to the IOP increase?

They blame the Valsalva maneuver and I tried that - you only feel that much pressure in your neck or head when you seriously mess up your technique or your mouthpiece is blocked.

[JohnHaganMD]

It’s not a problem. Eye diseases are not more common in wind musicians.  Myopia is not caused by increased IOP (except in congenital glaucoma)

[hei213]

Once again thank you for your answer.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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