Can eye problems cause balance problems?

Vision problems such as eye strain and poor eyesight can cause dizziness and balance problems. Visual information is crucial for learning, movement, and maintaining good posture and balance.


Can your eyes make you feel off balance?

This strong connection between the eyes and the vestibular system means that issues with your eyes can cause problems with your balance, including dizziness and motion sickness. Often, issues with the vestibular system that are connected to the eyes result from a misalignment of the eyes known as vertical heterophoria.

What diseases cause balance problems?

Certain conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or problems with your vision, thyroid, nerves, or blood vessels can cause dizziness and other balance problems.


Can eye problems cause dizziness and vertigo?

Can Eye Problems Cause Vertigo? Yes, any type of eye strain or issue can cause vertigo (as well as other neurological symptoms). This is because any issue between the eyes and brain can create dizziness.

Is vision connected to balance?

The visual system helps regulate the other systems involved in maintaining balance, this means that any defect in the visual system can lead to frequent falls and a balance disorder. Visual dysfunctions that cause blurred or double vision are common in balance disorders, but can also be its root cause.


Balance and Dizziness Problems Addressed at Penn Medicine



Which part of eye helps with balance?

The vestibular system and the visual system work together by sending signals from the eye muscles to the balance organs in the inner ear. When you turn your head, your eyes go in the opposite direction. This is called the Vestibular Ocular Reflex.

Can glasses help with balance?

In some cases, getting glasses or contacts is enough to greatly improve balance issues. By the time someone might notice another having trouble walking and poor hand-eye coordination, there may already be a bigger issue.

Can cataracts make you feel off balance?

Poor vision and double vision are common symptoms of cataracts. These issues may make you feel off balance because you cannot see well.


What is the best treatment for balance problems?

Treatment
  • Balance retraining exercises (vestibular rehabilitation). Therapists trained in balance problems design a customized program of balance retraining and exercises. ...
  • Positioning procedures. ...
  • Diet and lifestyle changes. ...
  • Medications. ...
  • Surgery.


Can cataracts cause you to be off balance?

Older patients with visual impairments or removed or unremoved cataracts are more likely to experience the onset of balance problems. Interventions should be considered to help improve balance for the elderly population who often have worse visual acuity and are more susceptible to falls and injury.

Why am I suddenly having balance issues?

Causes of balance problems include medications, ear infection, a head injury, or anything else that affects the inner ear or brain. Low blood pressure can lead to dizziness when you stand up too quickly.


Why do I feel off balance when I walk?

Vestibular balance disorders can affect your balance and make you feel disoriented. Common causes include inner ear problems, medicines, infections, and traumatic brain injury. These disorders can occur at any age. But they are most common as you get older.

What causes you to feel off balance?

Inner ear and balance

Dizziness has many possible causes, including inner ear disturbance, motion sickness and medication effects. Sometimes it's caused by an underlying health condition, such as poor circulation, infection or injury. The way dizziness makes you feel and your triggers provide clues for possible causes.

Can astigmatism make you feel off balance?

Uncorrected astigmatism can mimic all the same symptoms as vertical heterophoria. headaches and dizziness. Often a person with VH is misdiagnosed. Surprisingly, even symptoms such as feeling off-balance when you are eating or going about daily habits might have to do with your eyes.


What causes blurred vision and loss of balance?

Vertigo and motion sickness

Vertigo is a sudden feeling of imbalance and spinning that occurs even while a person is sitting or standing still. Blurred vision often occurs with the dizziness of a vertigo spell. Some common causes of vertigo include dehydration, migraine headaches and sudden head movement.

What kind of doctor should I see for balance problems?

If you are experiencing dizziness, lightheadedness, a spinning sensation, confusion, or blurred vision the first step is to speak with your primary care physician. He or she will begin the process of testing to determine the cause and may refer you to a local neurologist for some aspects of treatment.

Should I see a neurologist for balance issues?

While the vast majority of balance problems are caused by problems with the inner ear, there may be neurological causes for balance disorders which require neurological care.


What doctor deals with balance issues?

Departments that treat this condition
  • Audiology.
  • Neurology.
  • Neurosurgery.
  • Otolaryngology (ENT)/Head and Neck Surgery.
  • Pediatric Rehabilitation.
  • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
  • Psychiatry and Psychology.


What are the symptoms of worsening cataracts?

Symptoms
  • Clouded, blurred or dim vision.
  • Increasing difficulty with vision at night.
  • Sensitivity to light and glare.
  • Need for brighter light for reading and other activities.
  • Seeing "halos" around lights.
  • Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription.
  • Fading or yellowing of colors.
  • Double vision in a single eye.


What is visual vertigo?

Visual vertigo is a disorder characterised by symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, disorientation, and general discomfort induced by visual triggers. It is currently treated with vestibular rehabilitation therapy, with no effective pharmacotherapy available for treatment-resistant cases.


Do balance problems go away?

Generally, balance disorders last for a couple of days and the patient recovers slowly over 1 to 3 weeks. However, some patients may experience symptoms that can last for several months.

Can too much screen time cause vertigo?

Oculomotor symptoms, like eye strain, fatigue and headaches, involve overworking the nerve that controls eye movement. Disorientation can manifest as dizziness and vertigo. And several cybersickness symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating and blurred vision, overlap categories.

Can loss of peripheral vision affect balance?

Poor vision is a predictor of balance instability, 11,20 and poor central vision has been shown to be a risk factor for falls.


What does losing your balance mean?

Losing your balance while walking, or feeling imbalanced, can result from: Vestibular problems. Abnormalities in your inner ear can cause a sensation of a floating or heavy head and unsteadiness in the dark. Nerve damage to your legs (peripheral neuropathy). The damage can lead to difficulties with walking.

What controls balance in the brain?

The Cerebellum

This area of the brain is responsible for fine motor movement, balance, and the brain's ability to determine limb position.