Did you know that there is a link between certain musical instruments and glaucoma? that playing wind instruments can actually worsen your field loss?
Glaucoma patients need to be careful when playing wind instruments
Remember, if you play a high resistance wind instruments like the trumpet, you must be extra careful if you have been diagnosed with glaucoma. In fact, there is evidence that both high (e.g trumpet and oboe) and low resistance wind musicians (e.g clarinet and flute) can cause this change. These musicians, invariably, experience a transient rise in their eye pressure, or IOP, while playing their instruments.
What is the link between musical instruments and glaucoma progression?
A point to remember is that playing high resistance wind instruments utilizes the Valsalva maneuver, that is, a forcible exhalation against a closed glottis. This invariably creates a sudden increase in intrathoracic and abdominal pressures (pressure within your chest cavity and abdomen). This, eventually, decreases the blood flow back from head and neck, causing an increase in eye pressure.
Glaucoma progression is related to the type of instrument
In fact, research also indicates that high resistance wind musicians may have a significantly greater incidence of visual field loss, as compared to low resistance wind instruments.
Glaucoma progression is related to number of hours of playing
In addition, this effect depends upon the cumulative life hours of playing wind instruments. The more you practice, the more it can impact your disease progression. This is especially true if you play professionally,
Therefore, professional wind-instrument players who spend hours practicing daily may be subjected to repeated eye pressure elevations. This increases the risk of developing glaucoma.
Eventually, this may present as visual field damage, and may be classified as normal-tension glaucoma. In such cases, there is a definite correlation between musical instruments and progression of visual field loss.
So does it mean that you should give up playing your instrument of choice, if you have glaucoma?
No. All this means is the following:
Remember to tell you doctor you play a wind instrument. You can then discuss with her the number of hours you practice.
- In case you are at risk for glaucoma, you probably will not need to cut down on your hours of practice.
- If you have established glaucoma, your doctor will discuss the pros and cons of continuing rigorous practice.
- In case you have advanced glaucoma, you will probably be asked to decrease the number of hours you dedicate to your instrument.
- You may be asked to undergo a 24 hour continuous eye pressure monitoring. This will help your doctor understand what happens to your eye pressure when you play the musical instrument.
