BVD, Dizziness, and Vertigo: How the Eyes and Ears Work Together

Did you know that 20 percent of people in the United States have binocular visual dysfunction (BVD)? It's a common condition where your eyes have trouble teaming up together to create one clear image. If you experience blurred vision, headaches, light sensitivity, dizziness, motion sickness, and anxiety, you may have BVD. This visual problem can make simple everyday tasks like reading, driving, or computer use difficult, significantly affecting your quality of life. 

What Causes BVD?

One of the common reasons why a patient may suffer from BVD is because they lose symmetry in their face. This means that any injury, whether from sports or a vehicular accident, can damage your face and body. Trauma to your face can result in severe damage to your eye. A brain injury, say from an accident, may also result in similar symptoms. Other possible causes are congenital disability and spinal cord problems. 

As you age, your body becomes saggy and droopy. This makes older people more prone to eye misalignment. Also, those who have double vision indicate that they may have weak nerves. Certain health issues, which may develop due to aging, can impact your eye. These diseases include diabetes and heart disease, among others. 

What You Need to Know About Vertigo

Do you often get the sensation as if your surroundings move or spin? You may be surprised to know that vertigo is, in fact, a symptom and not a health condition itself. For some people, their vertigo is hardly noticeable. However, others may experience vertigo attacks so severe that they have trouble keeping their balance. This makes their everyday tasks challenging. Like BVD patients, those who have vertigo may also experience dizziness. Another symptom associated with vertigo is feeling sick. 

Vertigo usually results from a problem with how balance works in your inner ear. For example, having an inner ear infection (labyrinthitis) may trigger vertigo. Another potential cause is inflammation of the vestibular nerve (vestibular neuronitis). The vestibular nerve runs into your inner ear. It plays a primary role in sending signals to your brain that help controls your balance. Other likely causes of vertigo attacks are migraines and certain head movements. 

Understanding How Balance Works

Maintaining balance is a rather complex task for a human being. A person's head is heavy. That's why multiple systems in the body have to work together to keep your head upright and let you move through space on your two legs. These interconnected systems are your vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems. 

Both your vestibular and visual systems work together as a team by sending messages from your eye muscles to the balance organs in your inner ear. If you've noticed, your eyes go in the opposite direction when you turn your head. This is known as the vestibular ocular reflex. It lets you know that once you move through space, your body moves but the world does not. Signals from your body movement sensory and muscle (proprioceptive) system also keep your balance. If any of these vital systems aren't functioning correctly, you may experience dizziness, loss of balance, or vertigo. 

Have you been experiencing headaches, dizziness, or vertigo? At Eye Care North, we can administer a neuro-visual examination and help determine what's causing your issues. Call our office today in Cave Creek, Arizona, at 480-781-4446 to schedule your consultation.