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Disabling Vision Problems After TBI

According to Moshe Roth, a board certified optometrist in New Jersey, vision problems are very common after TBI as a result of damage to the brain or cranial nerves such as the optic nerve. These problems may escape rapid detection because other problems (such as severe headache, difficulty concentrating, poor memory or insomnia) may be most troublesome. Of all the vision problems caused by TBI the most disabling are visual field loss, persistent double vision, and visual/balance disorders.

Double vision is among the most disorienting and devastating vision disorder. People suffering from double vision will often times go to great lengths to alleviate the double image because it is so bothersome. Many will actually even patch, or cover an eye, thereby eliminating the vision from one eye just to get rid of their double vision. Double vision is caused when the two eyes do not align, or work together and one eye actually turns out, in, up or down compared to the fellow eye.

The disorientation from double vision will frequently trigger dizziness and balance problems. Brain injury is often accompanied by increased light sensitivity and general inability to tolerate normal glare