Balance problems are not always caused by the inner ear. In some cases, the issue may be related to how the eyes work together. At Chroma Optics in Burlington, VT, NeuroVisual Medicine is used to evaluate binocular vision dysfunction, or BVD, which can contribute to dizziness, unsteadiness, motion sickness, and trouble walking in a straight line.
 

How Vision Can Affect Balance

Your visual system plays a major role in balance and spatial awareness. When the eyes are slightly misaligned, the brain has to work harder to combine two images into one clear picture. That extra strain can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, poor depth perception, clumsiness, and discomfort in busy environments. BVD can also cause issues like head tilt, tripping, bumping into objects, and difficulty with hand-eye coordination.
 

What Is Neurovisual Medicine?

Neurovisual Medicine focuses on the connection between vision, posture, movement, and comfort. At Chroma Optics, Dr. Dora Sudarsky offers a NeuroVisual™ Exam to detect subtle visual misalignment that may not appear during routine testing. The goal is to identify whether binocular vision dysfunction is contributing to symptoms that affect daily life, including balance problems.
 

Signs Your Balance Issues May Be Vision-Related

Some people live with vision-related balance problems for years without realizing it. Symptoms can overlap with other conditions, which is one reason BVD is often missed or misdiagnosed. A closer evaluation may be worth considering if you notice:

• Frequent dizziness or unsteadiness
• Motion sickness or nausea in the car
• Trouble walking in a straight line
• Poor depth perception
• Feeling off balance in crowds or large stores
• Headaches, neck tension, or eye strain along with balance symptoms

These symptoms are commonly associated with BVD and may point to a problem with eye alignment rather than eyesight clarity alone.
 

What Happens During a NeuroVisual Exam?

A NeuroVisual™ Exam looks beyond whether you can read letters on a chart. This exam can assess eye movement, eye teaming, focusing, binocular fusion, depth perception, visual-spatial awareness, posture, and gait stability. This approach helps determine whether vision is contributing to balance and coordination issues.
 

Can Treatment Help?

If binocular vision dysfunction is found, treatment may include specialized microprism lenses. These lenses are designed to align the images sent to the brain so visual processing becomes more comfortable and stable. The practice notes that many patients feel improvement quickly, with the average patient noticing a 50% reduction in symptoms by the end of the first visit, followed by further fine-tuning over additional visits.

If balance problems, dizziness, or visual discomfort are affecting your day, contact Chroma Optics to schedule a NeuroVisual™ Exam today. Visit our office in Burlington, Vermont, or call (802) 497-1676 to book an appointment.