Dry eyes for court reporters and transcribers

Court reporters and transcriptionists get dry eyes because the job combines everything that slows blinking: hours of fixed focus on a realtime screen or transcript, fast reading while listening, and long sessions in climate-controlled courtrooms or home offices. Blink fully at every break, set screens slightly below eye level, keep vents off your face, and use a lubricating drop as its label directs.

Why reporting and transcription dry the eyes

Blinking spreads a fresh layer of tears over the eye, and concentration holds it back. A reporter writing on a steno machine is watching the realtime feed for untranslates while listening for every word; a transcriptionist is reading, rewinding and typing in a tight loop. Both are the kind of focused screen work that cuts the blink rate and leaves the surface of the eye exposed to the room’s air for longer between blinks.

The air doesn’t help. Courthouses and deposition suites run heating and cooling around the clock, and conference rooms often have a ceiling vent right above the table. Home transcribers may spend the whole day beside a space heater or under a ceiling fan.

Setting up the steno machine and screen

• Put the laptop or realtime display slightly below eye level, so your eyelids cover more of the eye while you read.
• Keep the screen at about arm’s length, angled to cut glare from courtroom lights or windows.
• Raise the font size in your CAT software’s realtime view so you aren’t squinting at raw steno.
• Match screen brightness to the room; a bright screen in a dim deposition room is tiring.
• If you can choose your seat, pick one where the HVAC vent isn’t blowing across your face.

Blink breaks between witnesses

Proceedings set their own rhythm, and you can’t stop a witness mid-answer to rest your eyes. Use the natural pauses instead:

• During sidebars, recesses and exhibit marking, close your eyes for a few seconds and blink slowly several times.
• At the lunch recess, step away from screens entirely instead of scoping on the laptop.
• When the day ends, look at something across the room or out a window before starting to edit.
• Build a short eye break into each hour of editing or scoping.

Transcriptionists working from audio have more control. Lifting off the foot pedal every few minutes to blink and look away costs seconds and pays off across an eight-hour file. Screens and your tear film explains the blink connection in more detail.

Long editing days at home

The workday doesn’t end when court adjourns. Editing a transcript for delivery often means hours more of reading, searching audio and proofing. Late-night proofreading in a dim room, with one bright screen as the only light, makes the eyes work harder and blink less. Turn on a lamp behind the monitor or off to the side to soften the contrast, keep a humidifier in the office during heating season, and stand up between sections.

Using eye drops on the job

Quell is a lubricating eye drop designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss. Its directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. That fits a reporter’s day neatly: once before the morning session, once at the lunch recess and once in the evening before editing, staying within the label.

Keep the bottle in your steno bag rather than a courtroom drawer or a hot car. The label’s storage line is Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Don’t let the tip touch your fingers or lashes: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. The full label, warning included, is on the Drug Facts page.

If you wear contact lenses or use prescription eye drops, the Quell label doesn’t give directions for combining them; check with your eye doctor or pharmacist.

Questions for an eye doctor

Reporters depend on clear, comfortable vision for every page. If dryness is getting in the way of reading the realtime screen, an eye exam can check whether your glasses prescription suits your working distance and look for other reasons your eyes feel dry. Ask whether a pair set for screen distance makes sense for you. Stop and call a doctor when the label says to: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.

Ordering for a busy calendar

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, with guest checkout and tracking by email. Shipping is $10.00, and orders of 3 or more bottles ship free, which makes it easy to keep one at the desk and one in the steno bag. There’s no subscription; after an order, you’ll get a single reminder email around the time you might be running low. Order Quell when you’re ready.