Have you ever felt dizzy after stepping off an escalator or a fast elevator? Now imagine experiencing that dizzying sensation because of what you are seeing.
Visual vertigo causes dizziness and a sense of imbalance triggered by visual stimuli. This can manifest in various ways, such as difficulty focusing on moving objects, sensitivity to bright lights, or discomfort in environments with complex visual patterns.
Thankfully, by training the brain to process visual information more efficiently, vision therapy can help individuals with visual vertigo improve their vertigo symptoms. The right vision therapy program can help people with persistent symptoms who have not found relief through traditional interventions.
What Is Visual Vertigo?
Vertigo is a condition that occurs when the brain incorrectly senses movement in the body. It can occur when the balance system in your inner ears isn’t working properly or when problems in the visual system occur.
When vertigo is caused by your visual system, it is called visually induced dizziness or visual vertigo. It occurs when there is a mismatch between the information sent from our eyes and our vestibular system, which helps control balance.
People with visual vertigo often report feeling as though their surroundings are moving or spinning, even when they are very still.
Your Balance System & Visual Vertigo
Vertigo seems to occur most commonly in people with damage to their vestibular system (also known as the balance system).
Impairments in the vestibular system can lead to the brain relying too heavily on visual information for balance, or it can lead to miscommunication between the brain’s visual system and balance systems. This leads to your brain struggling to interpret the visual information it receives, leading to visual vertigo symptoms.
Some common causes of an impaired vestibular system that can lead to visual vertigo include:
- Whiplash injuries
- Head injuries
- Migraines
Binocular Vision Disorder
Binocular vision disorder (BVD) can occur due to reduced vision in one eye, strabismus, and problems the brain encounters when comparing images from each eye.
BVD can strain the visual system, leading to symptoms of visual vertigo such as dizziness, nausea, and disorientation.
BVD does not always lead to visual vertigo, but individuals with BVD who experience vestibular issues may be more likely to develop visual vertigo.
Symptoms of Visual Vertigo
The symptoms of visual vertigo are similar to other kinds of vertigo. The most common symptoms of visual vertigo include:
- Dizziness
- Feeling like you are moving even when standing still
- Feeling like your surroundings are moving when they are not
- Light-headedness
- Disorientation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Increased sweating and fatigue
Visual Vertigo Triggers
Visual vertigo can be triggered by visual stimuli. Certain patterns and movements of objects in your surroundings may cause the vestibular system to perceive movement when there is none.
Some examples of common visual vertigo triggers include:
- Riding in a vehicle—such as a bus or a car
- Moving traffic or crowds
- Watching a movie on a large screen
- Complex environments such as grocery store shelves or detailed murals
- Viewing moving content on a digital screen
- Heavily striped patterns
How Is Visual Vertigo Treated?
Since BVD can exacerbate visual vertigo symptoms in people with vestibular disorders, using vision therapy to strengthen the eyes and reduce BVD can help improve visual vertigo symptoms.
Your vision therapist may use eye exercises to balance visual weaknesses and improve how well your eyes can follow moving objects in unison.
Some exercises vision therapists use improve balance and coordination, and some train the brain to rely on alternative cues for balance and vision. This can help individuals with visual vertigo regain their sense of stability and reduce dizziness.
Finding the Treatment for You
Visual vertigo can be a challenging condition to navigate, but there are ways to alleviate your symptoms. By working closely with your eye care team, you can find a visual vertigo treatment plan that works for your needs and health goals.
At Beyond 20/20 Optometry, our team of optometrists and vision therapists wants to help you overcome visual vertigo. To take the next steps in your eye health journey you can book an appointment with us today.
