Traumatic brain injury often causes vision problems that are overlooked during the initial treatment. These vision issues are secondary to immediate concerns like internal bleeding, brain impairment, and nerve damage. However, head injuries commonly affect the visual system, and therapy can help recovering brain injury patients more easily interpret photographic information. For many patients, the symptoms of brain injury may be difficult to spot, so check for these indications of a vision problem:
- Difficulty reading and comprehending
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurry vision
- Difficulty with memory
- Frequency of headaches
- Achy eyes
- Difficulty concentrating and attending to tasks
Vision therapy can help patients in recovering from brain injuries. It’s important to start treatment and continue until quality of life improves. A neuro-optometric rehabilitation program of eye exercises to stimulate the eye brain connection and vision integration with other systems such as vestibular and motor may be necessary in your specialized care plan to eliminate visual-related brain injury symptoms and help recover from the injury.
What Are Different Types of Brain Injury?
Head trauma has an impact on vision because of the dynamic connection between the eyes and the brain. Visual-related stimuli makes up 70% of the sensory input to the brain, and it’s processed throughout each lobe. Your eyes are essentially direct extensions of the brain that gather information for you to interpret. Brain injuries damage this connection, but vision therapy can help improve recovery. Common forms of brain trauma include:
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)– This kind of trauma occurs from a direct assault to the head from a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, fall, or combat injury. TBI can cause your brain to move within the head, causing further dysfunction.
- Non–Traumatic Brain Injury- This category of trauma includes conditions that aren’t directly neurological, but affect the brain, such as infection, tumors, or a stroke.
- Neurological Conditions– There are many neurological conditions that affect the brain and cause vision problems, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s disease.
Improving Your Quality of Life
Over 50% of people recovering from a brain injury have visual issues. A personalized vision therapy program can help ease the visual consequences of brain injuries. If you’re suffering from a disruption to your visual processes during head trauma recovery, seek the care of a developmental optometrist. With treatment from a team of specialists, you can improve your quality of life and eliminate symptoms like double vision, dizziness, headache, reduced coordination, and other visual impairments.