Visual vestibular disorders can cause significant headaches and eye strain due to the brain’s difficulty processing conflicting signals from the eyes and vestibular system. When the visual and balance systems are misaligned, the brain works overtime to reconcile the differences, leading to fatigue and discomfort. This constant strain can trigger headaches, especially after activities requiring focus or movement, such as reading or driving. Eye strain often accompanies these headaches as the eyes struggle to stabilize vision, causing discomfort, blurred vision, and a feeling of pressure around the eyes. Together, these symptoms can greatly impact daily activities, making tasks that rely on both vision and balance more challenging and exhausting.

Tracking Skills

Tracking skill deficits are common in individuals with vision vestibular disorders, making it difficult to follow moving objects or maintain focus on stationary ones. The misalignment between visual and vestibular input causes the brain to struggle with coordinating eye movements, leading to problems with tasks like reading, where individuals may lose their place or skip lines, or in activities requiring precise tracking, such as following traffic while driving. This can result in feelings of disorientation, frustration, and visual fatigue, as the brain works harder to compensate for the disrupted coordination between the visual and vestibular systems.

Anxiety in Visually Complex Environments

Adults with vision vestibular disorders often experience anxiety and vestibular symptoms, such as dizziness or disorientation, in visually complex environments like grocery stores or crowded places. This occurs because the visual and vestibular systems are not properly aligned, leading to difficulties in processing spatial information and maintaining balance. In visually busy settings, the brain struggles to integrate conflicting signals from the eyes and the vestibular system, resulting in sensory overload. This mismatch can trigger dizziness, balance issues, and a heightened sense of anxiety as the brain works harder to navigate the environment, making these situations overwhelming and uncomfortable.