Vestibular Migraines / Migraine-Associated Vertigo: Could It Be Binocular Vision Dysfunction?
You have been living with unbearable symptoms of dizziness, nausea and blurred vision for too long. When episodes hit, the dizziness is bad, and you might feel like everything around you is spinning, and that the ground is going to move out from under you. Each time you open your eyes you feel sick and off-balance. This feeling might last for several minutes or it could last for days. You might even get headaches. You’ve been told these symptoms might be due to a nervous system issue called Vestibular Migraine or Migraine-Associated Vertigo.
You have tried everything to treat this condition – from medications and changing your diet, to getting enough sleep, eliminating caffeine, exercising regularly, even learning how to manage your stress better. But no matter how much you try, your symptoms are still severe, and episodes keep occurring.
For those of you who have been wondering if there is something more that can be done, there is hope. You might not have vestibular migraines, but instead have a condition related to your eyes.
Since only 1 percent of the U.S. population has vestibular migraines / migraine-associated vertigo, it is quite possible that your symptoms could be due to a much more common condition called Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), which impacts 10%-20% of the population.
It Might Be Your Eyes
Getting an Accurate Diagnosis: Is it Binocular Vision Dysfunction?
Rather than there being an issue with your nervous system, the real problem might actually be with your eyes. The dizziness and other devastating symptoms might be all due to Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), a condition where the eyes do not work together smoothly as a team, leading to subtle vision misalignment. If the misalignment isn’t corrected, double vision will occur, making daily tasks and overall life extremely difficult.
The brain fixes this problem by forcing the eyes into alignment by overusing the eye aligning muscles. But the realignment is only temporary and is immediately followed by misalignment. This cycle of misalignment – realignment results in your eye muscles becoming tired, sore and overworked and causes dizziness, nausea, and vertigo.
The symptoms of BVD are very similar to those associated with vestibular migraines. You’ll feel overwhelmingly dizzy and nauseous. And just like with vestibular migraines it is common with BVD to feel off-balance, have trouble focusing, experience blurred vision, and have sensitivity to light. All symptoms associated with vestibular migraines can be found in people with eye misalignment. The misalignment is usually very subtle and cannot be identified just by looking at your eyes. Traditional vision alignment tests are just not sensitive enough to find the subtle misalignment, making a special exam required.
People with BVD are usually born with this condition and become symptomatic as they get older, or develop this condition after a concussion or traumatic brain injury.
Treating Your BVD
By getting a special exam known as a NeuroVisual Evaluation from a highly specialized eye doctor, you can find out if your eyes are the real problem. If a misalignment with your eyes is found, treatment for BVD is possible. With BVD, the NeuroVisual specialist can assess your eye alignment and prescribe you with specific aligning lenses. These custom lenses allows your eye muscles to rest by realigning your eyes, which enables you to see one clear image. The average person experiences an 80% reduction of symptoms.
Get Help From The Experts
At Vision Specialists of Michigan, we are the experts at accurately diagnosing your condition and resolving your dizziness and other unpleasant symptoms. Find out if your eyes are actually the issue rather than vestibular migraines / migraine-associated vertigo.
