How NeuroVisual Medicine Uses Microprism Lenses to Help Chronic Dizziness

Living with chronic dizziness can make everyday activities feel unpredictable. Walking through a busy store, driving, reading, or simply turning your head may leave you feeling unsteady or disoriented. While dizziness has many possible causes, sometimes the problem is connected to how the eyes work together.

At Outreach Vision in Platte City, we offer NeuroVisual Medicine to identify subtle eye misalignment associated with binocular vision dysfunction (BVD). When BVD contributes to dizziness, customized microprism lenses can help the eyes and brain work together more comfortably.

How Eye Misalignment Can Contribute to Dizziness

Your two eyes are designed to work as a coordinated team. Each eye sends an image to the brain, which combines those images into one clear picture.

With BVD, even a small misalignment can force the visual system to work harder to keep those images aligned. This ongoing effort can contribute to dizziness, headaches, motion sensitivity, eye strain, and balance problems. Some people with BVD still have clear vision, which is why the condition can be overlooked during a standard vision screening.

Signs Your Dizziness May Have a Visual Component

Because BVD symptoms often overlap with other conditions, a specialized evaluation is important. Symptoms that may accompany visually related dizziness include:

•          Feeling dizzy, unsteady, or off balance

•          Headaches or pressure around the eyes

•          Motion sickness while driving or riding in a vehicle

•          Light sensitivity or discomfort in busy environments

•          Neck tension or frequent head tilting

•          Difficulty reading, focusing, or tracking lines of text

Persistent or unexplained dizziness should always receive appropriate medical attention. When other causes have been ruled out or symptoms seem connected to visual tasks, evaluating binocular vision may provide another piece of the puzzle.

What Are Microprism Lenses?

Microprism lenses are specialized prescription lenses that use very small amounts of prism to compensate for subtle eye misalignment. Rather than forcing the eyes to constantly correct their positioning, the lenses redirect light so the images reaching the brain are easier to combine.

Unlike traditional prism prescriptions that may use larger increments, microprism lenses can be prescribed in fractional amounts. This allows us to customize the prescription closely to each patient's visual alignment needs. The prism is incorporated into the patient's regular glasses prescription, so microprism glasses typically look like ordinary eyewear.

How a NeuroVisual Exam Works

Our NeuroVisual™ exam in Platte City goes beyond checking how clearly each eye sees. We evaluate how the eyes function together and look closely at factors such as eye movement, tracking, focusing, convergence, depth perception, balance, and visual-spatial awareness.

If we determine that BVD is contributing to chronic dizziness, we can prescribe customized microprism lenses designed around the specific amount and direction of misalignment we find.

As the visual system adjusts, the prism prescription may need to be fine-tuned. Follow-up evaluations allow us to reassess alignment and make changes when necessary so the lenses continue supporting comfortable, coordinated vision.

Find Out if BVD Is Contributing to Your Dizziness

If chronic dizziness is interfering with your daily life, schedule a NeuroVisual™ exam with Outreach Vision to learn whether customized microprism lenses may help you feel more balanced and visually comfortable. Contact our office in Platte City, Missouri, by calling (816) 858-6080 to book an appointment today.