Vision Problems Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injury
Double Vision is Common after Stroke or Head Injury.
It is vital to the rehabilitation process that double vision is treated as soon as possible; the overall rehabilitation will otherwise be significantly delayed.
Double vision can cause problems with:
- Hand-writing
- Anxiety with visual tasks
- Reach and grab inaccuracies
- Balance and movement difficulties like drifting when walking, stumbling or falling
- Driving difficulties with lane positioning, proper speed maintenance, multitasking, navigation
A head injury can result in vision problems, and it doesn’t matter how young or old you are. Whether you have fallen off a bike, had a car accident or a stroke, vision problems can range from being very subtle to severe.
The more severe vision problems are obvious: the person complains of double vision, or words moving on the page. The problem is the more subtle vision problems, which can have a wide variety of symptoms such as headaches, dizziness or nausea, motion sickness or even difficulty with balance or movement.
A Team Approach
Typically, we find that patients who have suffered a head injury often require a team approach to help with overall recovery. We collaborate with Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Physiatrists to help our patients.
The First Step
The first step is a thorough evaluation of your vision to determine the extent of vision problems related to traumatic or acquired brain injuries. Dr. Landerville will then develop the best vision rehabilitaton plan for the problems. Treatment may include prism lenses, which can often provide immediate relief, and in some cases, optometric vision therapy is also needed. Dr. Landerville will explain everything once the evaluation is completed.
Symptoms of Post Trauma Vision Syndrome
There are a variety of symptoms which are involved in Post Trauma Vision Syndrome, including:
- Blurred vision, especially when reading
- Headaches
- Double vision
- Pain in the eye or eyes
- Poor reading comprehension
- Sensitivity to light
- Loses place when reading
If you or a loved one has had a head injury, we recommend scheduling an appointment to determine if some subtle vision problems may interfere with the recovery process. The good news is that most vision problems relating to head injury can be helped.
