Thanks for the new comments this has been getting.
I have visited the prof doctor today. Good news: I don't need surgery, yet. Plan is to wait 1 year and see how it develops. It may be coincidental that I have the neck as is and also happen to have migraines or other neck pain. In fact, this sounds plausible to me as I have had weekly migraines for almost 20 years now. He described it as 'impossible' to find any correlation let alone causation between symptom and cause. The prof said that my scans & degree of BI are not too severe to rush into a fixation surgery. Indeed only during neck flexion the medulla is slightly impressed due to C1 being positioned too high, which is perhaps the only issue I really have. The spine and other vertebra looked fine. Nonetheless, the bad news is fixation is a very invalidating surgery (as @MasterTech suggests). He explained that fixing C1 requires a full fusion, in which the neck has very little movement left (likely need adjusted car or can't drive, etc.). It should still be considered if more severe symptoms develop, such a consistent tingling in hands or a gait that mimics a drunk person, but for now let's hope that will never be the case.
The video from MasterTech is very inspiring. Yes I'm pretty confident that the route of conservative treatment is still largely unexplored. My doctor could not give an explanation w.r.t. correlation with stress, being more overweight, etc. : only that both factors lowers the threshold of external stimuli...
Unfortunately he was only able to give little direct advice w.r.t. lifestyle or work. Raising the work level or using a microscope seems like a valid option to avoid symptoms like tingling. No mention of the degree of care I should take in this. Tingling is mostly harmless. Basically, he told me that I am the judge on what is acceptable.
So still a safe bet to adjust as much as I can anyway. A few weeks ago I raised my computer monitor setup as high as it would go (so I slightly look up wards). I also daily take Resveratrol 100mg for the last 2 weeks now. Unfortunately, neck/headache episodes still come and go, but I will continue to take Resveratrol for a little while (I have another bottle of 30 capsules). Like I said, my neck may indeed actually not have vertebra subluxations but 'only' a too highly positioned C1.
With regards to recommendations of microscopes:
I think that on a microscope; eyepiece adjustment is very nice to have... I'm not to keen on the ones where the eyepieces are titled and too far back on the bench to reach, so you still tilt your head 20 degrees down to look into them.
Then again, tilting only 20 degrees is probably a massive 40-70 degrees saved, depending on how much you like the board you're soldering.
Unfortunately, I'm not too impressed by the prices from Leica (the surgical versions, at least). Tagarno microscopes were also really expensive.. I'm afraid they will be out of reach even at work - academic budgets are unfortunately finite. A Mantis may be viable. I will discuss that option next week at work and my company doctor.
For hobby I contemplate a adjustable standard + HDMI camera + external monitor. I have taken a look at the option provided by Electo Fan at Dutch shops:
E.g.
AmScope SM-4TP +
KP-2307V-05XHY-1138 or
HY-1138 camera. The Amprobe base still has the titled binoculars, but with the camera I would have both options. Nice thing is I can add the camera as an addon if I find that long sessions on the binoculars is uneasy.
Alternatives could be
this camera+stand or
with additional screen. But I don't really like the last option (why have a proprietary screen when I have 2 FullHD IPS monitors collecting dust here... The Amazon camera+stand unfortunately is not available, but it's probably the KP-2307V camera (or similar).
The first Eleshop kit + 2K camera options seems like a semi-affordable option. Not sure whether the 4NTP or 4TP model have significant differences though. Working distance of 100mm or 200mm with 0.5 Barlow lens sounds very good (Mantis Compact/Elite is about 160mm at 2x zoom). Unfortunately, the specifications for the camera head are IMO a bit vague (let's say lost in translation).
Things I still question about the Amprobe, maybe some people have experience with it:
What is the view range (e.g. width)? This is in case I also would like to use it for other activities such as assembly or finishing 3D prints (sanding etc).
How easy is it to switch the Barlow lens? Switching quickly between 0.5x or 0.3x sounds like it may be worth it..
Height adjustments on my desk or work area also sounds like a good idea. I may actually start to draw up a plan together, now that I have some more info on microscopes