When we have a misalignment between our eyes, our eyes are essentially out of sync with each other, and it is very difficult for our brain to make one clear image from the two misaligned images.nFor example, most people’s brains are able to transform two separate but aligned images into a single image (known as binocular vision). But if you have BVD, the brain struggles to process the two misaligned images into one clear image. To fix the problem, the brain forces the eye aligning muscles to realign the eyes. But this realignment is only temporary, creating a continuous cycle of misalignment/realignment. As time goes on, this cycle produces an enormous amount of stress and strain on the eye muscles, which results in headaches, dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms associated with wearing new glasses that do not seem to have been made correctly.

Can New Glasses Cause Headaches?

Yes, sometimes new glasses can cause headaches, but this should last no longer than 2 weeks. For adults and children with BVD, the headaches and other symptoms are frequent, lasting longer than two weeks, and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to find relief.

Why Do I Get a Headache from Glasses?

Adjusting to new glasses symptoms can be very uncomfortable. In addition to potentially having BVD, there are several possible reasons why new glasses are causing your headache:nPoorly Fitted GlassesnIf your eyeglass frames were fitted incorrectly on your face, for example, if the frame is sitting too high or too low, or if the lenses are not properly centered on each eye, this can cause headaches from your new glasses. You should check with your eye doctor to ensure the frames/lenses were placed correctly.nNew PrescriptionnAnother possible reason you could be experiencing headaches from new glasses is the new prescription. Sometimes the new glasses cause eye strain due to this change in how your eyes see. So since your new eyeglasses contain a new prescription for your eyes (a new way of seeing the world around you), it can sometimes take a few days for your eyes to adjust.nIn addition to your new glasses causing headaches, you might experience blurred vision, but these symptoms should only last for up to two weeks as your eyes adjust. Additionally, adjusting to progressive lenses can cause headaches for a temporary period of time while your eyes adapt to wearing eyeglasses. Ensure you’ve had a comprehensive eye exam and you’re wearing the correct prescription eyeglasses.nYour Glasses Have an Incorrect PrescriptionnIf the prescription provided by your eye doctor is not an accurate prescription for your vision, it can place strain on your eye muscles that can result in the new glasses causing headaches. Additionally, new glasses causing headaches could be a result of astigmatism (an imperfection in the curvature of your eye) in which you would need a specific prescription to correct the curvature.nDigital Eye StrainnThere are instances where wearing glasses is not the cause of blurry vision. Some individuals are more affected by the specific light from laptops, televisions, and phones. Sometimes, this condition is referred to as computer vision syndrome and only causes headaches when in front of digital screens for long periods of time. nBlue light glasses are sometimes used to prevent headaches when working digitally. These glasses may relieve eye strain where prescription glasses don’t.

How Long Does it Take To Get Used To New Glasses?

While getting used to new glasses lenses can take time, it should only take up to two weeks for you or your child to adjust to your new glasses. If your symptoms continue for more than two weeks, or if you had headaches and symptoms prior to your new glasses that are not improving, you might have BVD.

New Glasses Headache: Causes, Glasses For Migraines, & Relief

If you or your child is experiencing headaches after getting new glasses, you are not alone. In some cases, mild discomfort is a normal part of the adjustment period. In other cases, headaches, dizziness, or nausea may be a sign that the visual system is working harder than it should.

Some people spend months dealing with these symptoms and expect new glasses to fix the problem. When they persist or worsen, it can be confusing and frustrating.

If your new glasses are causing dizziness, nausea, or persistent headaches, an underlying vision alignment issue, such as Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), may be the culprit. Understanding the difference between normal adjustment and a deeper visual issue is an important first step toward relief.

Is It Normal to Get a Headache or Migraine From New Glasses?

Sometimes, yes. Your eyes and brain work together as a system. When your prescription changes, your brain must adapt to processing visual information in a new way. That adjustment can temporarily increase visual effort, especially during reading, screen use, or driving.

For many individuals, this adjustment period is short. For others, headaches stick around, become more painful, or sometimes even feel migraine-like. When that happens, the issue may go beyond a simple adjustment.

When Headaches Are Part of a Normal Adjustment Period

A short adjustment phase is common after getting new glasses.

Headaches during this time usually:

Feel mild to moderate
Improve over several days to up to two weeks
Occur mainly during visual tasks
Fade rather than intensify

As your eyes and brain adapt, discomfort should steadily decrease.

When Headaches Are a Sign Something Else Is Going On

Headaches may point to an underlying issue when they:

Last longer than two weeks
Become more intense instead of improving
Start quickly after putting your glasses on
Come with dizziness or nausea
Feel like migraines
Make daily tasks harder, not easier

If your vision looks clear but your symptoms continue, the new prescription may not be the only factor.

A woman holds onto her glasses and rubs at her temple as if she has a headache

Why New Glasses Can Trigger Migraine-Like Symptoms

Visual stress places extra demand on the brain. When the eyes struggle to work together efficiently, the brain compensates. That extra effort can trigger symptoms commonly associated with migraines.

These symptoms may include:

Headaches behind the eyes or at the temples
Sensitivity to light
Nausea
Dizziness
Visual overwhelm in busy environments
Head pain triggered by screens or reading

For some people, new glasses increase this strain rather than relieve it.

Many people describe these headaches as migraines because the symptoms overlap so closely. Migraine treatments may help temporarily, but they do not always address the visual stress causing the problem. When headaches improve with rest but return during visual tasks, vision alignment may be playing a role.

How Eye Misalignment Can Contribute to Headaches and Migraines

Binocular Vision Dysfunction occurs when the eyes do not align or work together smoothly. Even small misalignments can force the brain to work overtime to maintain single, clear vision.

This constant effort can lead to headaches, dizziness, nausea, and visual fatigue. BVD often goes undetected because standard eye exams focus on visual clarity, not how well the eyes work together.

Traditional glasses correct focus. They often do not correct alignment. When clarity improves, but alignment issues remain, symptoms such as eye misalignment-related migraines can stick around and even become worse. In some cases, new glasses make headaches more noticeable because the brain can no longer compensate as easily.

Clear vision does not always mean comfortable vision.

What is BVD?

When we have a misalignment between our eyes, our eyes are essentially out of sync with each other, and it is very difficult for our brain to make one clear image from the two misaligned images.

For example, most people’s brains are able to transform two separate but aligned images into a single image (known as binocular vision). But if you have BVD, the brain struggles to process images correctly due to eye misalignment. To fix the problem, the brain forces the eye alignment muscles to realign the eyes. But this realignment is only temporary, creating a continuous cycle of misalignment/realignment. As time goes on, this cycle produces an enormous amount of stress and strain on the eye muscles, which results in “BVD migraines”, dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms associated with wearing new glasses that do not seem to have been made correctly.

For those experiencing a headache with new glasses, it could be due to BVD.

A man rubbing at his eyes while holding his glasses and staring at a laptop screen

What are the Symptoms of BVD?

It’s common for adults suffering from headaches with new glasses to say, “These new glasses are making me dizzy,” or “When I wear glasses, I get a headache” or “I just can’t wear these glasses for more than a few minutes.” However, the symptoms of BVD can extend beyond just headaches and can vary depending on age.

Common Symptoms for Adults with Binocular Vision Dysfunction

There are several symptoms associated with BVD in adults. Some individuals experience all of these symptoms, while others experience only a few, such as headaches, nausea, and dizziness. These symptoms are also very similar to those associated with vestibular migraines and vertigo.

Adults with BVD commonly suffer from symptoms such as:

Headaches
Dizziness
Nausea
Anxiety
Sensitivity to light
Difficulty with balance / unsteady walking
Pain in the neck
Frequent head tilt
Motion sickness
Difficulty reading and learning

See Patient Success Stories

A child with a headache holding his head

Headaches and Vision-Related Symptoms in Children

Headaches, nausea, and visual discomfort do not only affect adults. Children with vision alignment issues can struggle in ways that are easy to miss, especially in school settings.

When headaches or nausea occur regularly, children may miss school, fall behind in reading and learning, or avoid visual tasks altogether. In some cases, these symptoms are mistaken for attention or behavioral concerns such as ADD or ADHD rather than a vision problem.

Symptoms related to Binocular Vision Dysfunction can vary by age:

Symptoms in Children Ages 4 to 8

Children in this age group may show signs such as:

Poor handwriting or uneven spacing, including letters that are too large or too small
Difficulty reading or avoiding reading
Holding books or toys very close to the face
Sitting close to the television
Trouble identifying shapes, colors, or numbers that are age-appropriate
Difficulty seeing the classroom board
Frequently bumping into objects
Difficulty catching balls
Stomach aches or headaches at school or away from home
Sensitivity to light
Covering one eye to see
Anxiety in busy or public places
Frequent squinting

Symptoms in Children Ages 9 to 13

Older children may experience:

Bumping into objects while walking
Headaches or nausea during homework
Re-reading the same lines repeatedly
Sensitivity to bright lights
Closing one eye to see more clearly
Blurred vision during computer use
Blurred vision or tired eyes when viewing the board in class
Verbal skills that are stronger than reading skills
Frequent blinking

When these patterns appear, a closer look at visual alignment may help explain what is happening and lead these children toward symptom relief.

A woman wearing a new pair of glasses and standing next to a display of glasses.

Can Prism Lenses Help With Headaches and Migraines?

How Prism Lenses For Headaches Work

Prism glasses help guide the eyes into better alignment so they can work together more comfortably. By reducing the effort required to maintain good binocular vision, prism lenses can lessen visual strain that contributes to headaches and migraine-like symptoms.

Rather than forcing the eyes into position, prism lens “migraine glasses” reduce the demand placed on the visual system, allowing the eyes and brain to work together more effectively.

Why Microprism Lenses For Headaches Are Different

Microprism lenses use very small, precise amounts of prism tailored to each individual’s visual system. This personalized approach supports gradual adjustment and ongoing fine-tuning based on how the eyes and brain respond.

For many patients, this level of precision can lead to noticeable improvements in comfort during everyday visual tasks.

Treatment for New Glasses Causing Headaches

If new glasses are causing persistent headaches, treatment options, such as “migraine glasses”, are available.

A NeuroVisual Medicine specialist may prescribe microprism lenses for headaches to address eye misalignment-related migraines, and support better visual teamwork. These lenses differ from standard prescription lenses because they bend light in a way that helps shift the image into a position that supports improved alignment.

As the eyes require less effort to create one clear image, symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, and visual fatigue may decrease. Treatment often involves adjusting and refining the microprism prescription over several visits to match how the visual system responds over time.

A man sits on a couch holding his head as if in pain

When to Consider a NeuroVisual Evaluation

A NeuroVisual Evaluation may be helpful if:

Headaches last beyond a typical adjustment period
Migraines begin or worsen after getting new glasses
Symptoms increase during reading or screen use
Dizziness or nausea accompanies headaches
School or work performance suffers due to visual discomfort

This type of evaluation focuses on how the eyes work together, not just how clearly you see.

What’s Next If New Glasses Are Causing Headaches

Headaches, migraines, dizziness, or nausea after new glasses are not something you have to ignore or accept as normal.

If symptoms persist, are disruptive, or are unexplained, there may be an underlying visual reason. Identifying how your visual system is functioning can bring clarity and help guide the next step in care.

You deserve answers that make sense for your experience and a path forward that supports a more comfortable, confident vision.

A NeuroVisual Evaluation can help determine how your eyes are working together and whether visual alignment may be contributing to your discomfort. From there, you can explore options and get relief.

If you are ready for answers that make sense for your experience, the next step is simply learning more.

Are New Glasses Giving You a Headache?