Binocular Vision Dysfunction Treatment

What Are Symptoms Of BVD?

BVD presents differently for everyone, but common symptoms include:

Vestibular Symptoms

Dizziness, lightheadedness, disorientation with varying degrees of frequency, from occasional episodes to daily awareness.

These common BVD vestibular symptoms often mimic those seen in migraines, sinus issues, TMJ, inner ear problems, or anxiety, but the root cause may lie in the eyes. They are often triggered by:

Side-to-side head movement
Up-and-down head movement
Getting up quickly for a seated position
Bending over to retrieve an object and getting up quickly
Riding as a passenger in a car, especially in the back seat
Going around curves while in a car
High speed expressway driving with fast moving vehicles passing on either side
Nausea
Motion sickness and car sickness, often since childhood
Unsteadiness while walking. Develops a slower gait to feel steadier on feet and to avoid falling
Falls often (with occasional breaks to bones) due to being unsure of their footing
Drifts to one side while walking down a hallway. Unintentionally moves into someone else’s space while walking next to them. Feels like their midline or body center is shifted to one side. Walks into door frames, edges of tables, corners of counter, etc., often with the same side of the body each time

Head, Neck, and
Shoulder Pain
Symptoms

These BVD symptoms are similar to those seen in patients with sinus problems, migraines, TMJ, spinal misalignment issues, and include:

Headaches with varying degrees of intensity and location. Most common locations: forehead, temples, back of head.
Pain with eye movements.
Facial / “sinus” pain, pain in the jaw region.
Severe neck and shoulder discomfort due to an accompanying head tilt (frequently obvious). Neck pain is described as a neck headache or neck migraine.

Driving
Symptoms

These BVD driving symptoms can include:

Difficulties with stopping at traffic lights and stop signs. The signs seem to move due to the underlying dizziness. It can sometimes feel like the car is moving backward even though the foot is on the brake.
Images are seen moving in the peripheral vision that aren’t really moving.

Anxiety

BVD can cause symptoms of anxiety and are similar to those seen in patients with agoraphobia or anxiety syndromes, including:

Anxiety associated with being uncomfortable while driving in a moving vehicle. Concern that a dizzy episode will occur while they are driving, and that they will not be able to pull over to the side of the road to get to safety, before harming themselves or others.
Anxiety associated with being in a space with a tall ceiling (i.e. malls, grocery stores, big box stores). All of the multiple stimuli and detail in a large space can overload the visual system and trigger a dizzy episode with the resultant feeling of being overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed when in a group with many people due to the many faces and stimuli triggering dizziness.
Generalized anxiety, sometimes severe enough to cause suicidal ideation.

Reading
Difficulties
Associated
BVD

These BVD symptoms are similar to those seen in patients with ADHD or a learning disability, including:

Rereading for comprehension / difficulty concentrating.
Skipping lines while reading. Losing their place while reading. Using their finger or a ruler as a guide to follow along on a line of print.
Words running together while reading.
Fatigue with reading.

Diplopia
Symptoms

BVD diplopia symptoms can include:

Sensitivity to bright lights from misalignment of eyes causing an exaggerated amount of glare off of all surfaces.
Blurred vision, overlapping vision, double vision, shadowed vision.
Poor depth perception. Sometimes feeling uncoordinated since childhood, especially with sports like catching a ball or hitting a ball (i.e. activities requiring keen hand-eye coordination).
Closing or covering an eye eases visual tasks (near or far)

Vision
Symptoms

BVD vision symptoms include:

Eye strain
Blurred distance vision
Blurred near vision

Miscellaneous
Symptoms
of BVD

Other symptoms from BVD include:

Feeling spacey.
Having difficulty concentrating when someone is talking to them, especially when it is for more than a couple of minutes.
Difficulty looking other people in the eyes for any prolonged period of time. This is is made worse when the person is moving their hands or body, which can over stimulate the visual system and trigger dizziness.

How We Diagnose and Treat BVD

At Primary Eye Care Associates, we take a personalized, compassionate approach to uncovering the root cause of your visual discomfort. Here’s what you can expect during our BVD evaluation process:

You’ll fill out a short Quality of Vision questionnaire and health history form. This helps us understand how your eyes are feeling day to day and what symptoms might be affecting your quality of life.
Your doctor will assess whether you need correction for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism — foundational steps in giving you clearer, more comfortable vision.
We measure how your eyes work together. If your eyes are slightly misaligned, one may appear higher than the other — this can cause headaches, eye strain, and other symptoms. We use specialized tools to identify even subtle misalignments.
We fine-tune your prescription in real time. Using a trial frame, your doctor will fit you with lenses that include a gentle prism to help your eyes align and work better together.

Results from this process are often immediate and dramatic. Many patients report reduced symptoms — such as headaches, eye fatigue, or dizziness — within just 20 to 30 minutes.

After you receive your new glasses, we’ll schedule a two-week follow-up to ensure you’re still feeling great and to fine-tune if needed. Our goal is to help you see and feel your best every day.

Binocular Vision Dysfunction

When your eyes are misaligned, your whole body feels it.

Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD) refers to the inability of both eyes to coordinate properly.