Traumatic Brain Injuries & Your Vision

Vision issues may be overlooked during the beginning treatment of a traumatic brain injury. In some cases, symptoms don’t present until hours or days after the injury. There are symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored and you should let your eye doctor in Lewisville, TX, know. An experienced eye doctor in this field, such as Dr. Brecheen, can help.

What Happens after a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Good visual skills are important for efficient information processing. When processing visual information is hard, you may be trying harder and straining without even knowing it. Some visual skills that are affected after a brain injury include distance acuity, maintaining attention, peripheral vision, and depth perception. 

Vision Problems That Happen after a Brain Trauma

There are some vision problems that can present after a traumatic brain injury that should be evaluated by an optometrist.

Eye Focusing: This includes the ability to shift focus between objects and distances and blurred vision.

Eye Teaming: After an injury, your eyes may not work together properly, which results in double vision.

Eye Movements: It can be hard to move your eyes when trying to follow an object or reading.

Motion Sensitivity: The integration between the balance system and vision can be disturbed, making it hard to process motion properly.

Other symptoms that can happen after a brain injury include headaches and eye pain, sensitivity to light, and visual field loss.

Vision Therapy after a Traumatic Brain Injury

Vision therapy can be helpful and effective after a brain injury. An optometrist determines how you process information after an injury and where your weaknesses and strengths are. You are then prescribed a treatment plan that can include prisms, low vision aids, lenses, and activities that are designed to improve the control of your visual system and increase your vision. Having better vision can help support many activities in your daily life.

Visiting an Eye Doctor

You want an eye doctor who is an expert in vision problems that stem from brain injury, such as Dr. Brecheen in Lewisville, TX. Contact Brecheen Learning and Vision Center to schedule your appointment today.