Acquired brain injuries include concussions, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, and neuro-degenerative conditions.
An acquired brain injury can have several effects on the visual system, which can include:
- Impaired eye focusing
- Impaired eye teaming or convergence palsy
- Dry Eyes
- Impaired eye movement or tracking
- Wandering, turned, or crossed eyes
- Peripheral or “side vision” loss
- Visual attention neglect
- Visual perceptual deficits
- Light sensitivity and Visual Disturbances
Post trauma vision disorders are very common but can sometimes be very difficult for the patient to describe. In recent studies we have determined that around 70% of patients experience at least one post trauma vision symptom.
These symptoms can include:
Double vision
Headaches
Blurred vision
Dizziness or nausea
Light sensitivity
Attention or concentration difficulties
Staring behavior (low blink rate)
Spatial disorientation
Losing place when reading or reading comprehension problems
Visual memory problems
An eye turn
Difficulty shifting focus from near to far
Words move or blur when reading
Unstable peripheral vision
Associated neuro-motor difficulties with balance, coordination, and posture
Perceived movement of stationary objects
Consistently stays to one side of hallway or room
Bumps into objects when walking
Poor walking or posture – tends to lean forward or back or to either side
Perception of the floor being tilted
Visual information processing problems
Visual field neglect or loss