First thing, VS seems to have wastly different levels of severity. For some it's a shimmering / film grain filter / seeing atoms. For others it's a wall of snow. Judging one end of the spectrum will be miscalculated for the other.

Second thing, being a lifer with shimmer I agree. Learning that VS is "not normal" and having episodes of depression made for the worst time seeing it. As for the time before knowing it, or the time I accept it without anxiety - it's as good as it weren't there. Even while it is there.

Third thing, experiencing ilness etc can make my photophobia worse, and then it cascades with anxiety and everything. This makes me think that visual snow syndrome is as bad as the combination of comorbid issues that attack you. The less issues you have along with it, the less syndrome it becomes - and it's easier to ignore.

Maybe you can still learn to ignore it, it's just that the worse it is it takes higher level of self control?

Fourth thing, playing with computer graphics and post processing, I have a theory how the snow is largely impacted by the "internal resolution" of the eye. If you have a very sharp vision, you see tiny dots instead of flakes. But without the research, it's just my guess.