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"dizziness" when looking at fast moving text or objects
Hi. About 3-4 months ago, I noticed something strange regarding my vision and motion. I first noticed it when I scrolled down a page on my computer (causing the text etc to move quickly upward). It is hard to explain, but I get a visual disturbance sort of feeling. I cant quite call it dizziness, but more like it seems that my eyes dont keep up with what is moving. I also began to notice this while watching television. Commercials and movies often have fast moving objects etc in and out of the sceen from different angles. Sometimes when this happens, I have to look away to kind of "get my bearings" for a second. Again, it is not dizziness like vertigo, it is not lightheadedness, nor is it dizziness related to syncope (fainting). It only happens for the second or two when a group of fast moving objects crosses my vision (like while watching television). I do not notice these symptoms any other time. I have no other neurological symptoms that I am aware of. No trouble with gait or balance. No blurred vision or mental status changes. I do not wear glasses. Is this sort of thing common, and is it something to really worry about, since I have no other symptoms? (I did have a head CT scan in 2005 for something different, and my CT scan there was normal, which isnt all that long ago). I am, trying to decide if I should see a doctor for this, as I am currently uninsured. I appreciate any advice that any of can give me. Thanks .
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Hi all
I just stumbled across this post, whilst looking up something else.
I have been suffering with blurred vision whilst scrolling / watching TV for a while. After a chance conversation with someone a couple of months ago, they suggested I got an assessment for Dyspraxia. Turns out I have both dyspraxia & a mild form dyslexia. One of the symptoms is Visual Stress. I have undergone a visual stress assessment & now have tinted glasses. These have vastly improved the issues I had reading things, scrolling through documents etc. I haven't yet tried wearing them for TV or driving yet, but I will do once I am used to them.
Hope this helps.
I just stumbled across this post, whilst looking up something else.
I have been suffering with blurred vision whilst scrolling / watching TV for a while. After a chance conversation with someone a couple of months ago, they suggested I got an assessment for Dyspraxia. Turns out I have both dyspraxia & a mild form dyslexia. One of the symptoms is Visual Stress. I have undergone a visual stress assessment & now have tinted glasses. These have vastly improved the issues I had reading things, scrolling through documents etc. I haven't yet tried wearing them for TV or driving yet, but I will do once I am used to them.
Hope this helps.
1 Comments
@LozT82 what color tint are your glasses? How tinted are they? Are they a dark tint, or some other color? I have been looking into eye wear that blocks blue light. The ones I am looking at are yellow tinted. But now you have me wondering if I should be finding some that are darker.
I am 30, and have started experiencing these symptoms starting a few months ago. I can relate to just about everything. The biggest killer for me is scrolling down on a page on my computer or on my phone. If I do that longer than 3 minutes then my eyes feel extremely fatigued, accompanied with a brief/mild dizzy spell.
I recently got a new prescription for my glasses. Prior to that, I had been wearing the same pair for over 2 and a half years. The new prescription changed a lot. I've worn glasses for 15 years, so I know very well about adjusting to new lenses. In all my other cases of new glasses, it took me less than a day to adjust to them and I would never think about it again. This time around, something feels wrong. I had the prescription checked. It turned out being "slightly too weak". They got me a new pair of glasses with the new prescription but a few weeks later I'm experiencing the same issues. I feel a tightness in my forehead, I think right where my sinuses are located. I have never in my life had allergy problems, but I understand they can develop as life goes on. Yesterday out of desperation, I took a Zyrtec pill. 40 minutes later my left nostril was running and the left-eye pain I was experiencing also vanished. Today I took another Zyrtec, but the tightness/pressure in my head remains.
I am a software engineer that works way too many hours in the day. I originally labeled all of this as eye fatigue from having sat at the computer, but I recently went on a 2 week vacation where I wasn't looking at a computer screen at all. The day I went back to work, I was suffering from the same problem.
One thing I have noticed, is that I am having a crazy amount of dreams when I sleep. I can't be very scientific about this, but I believe the dreams all started about the same time? Eyes move around a lot during the REM cycle. I used to not dream very often at all. As a child I did, but all throughout my twenties dreams weren't very common. Someone up above asked about overactive eyes while sleeping. I had a sleep study once, it makes me wonder if I should do it again. It feels like my eyes are extremely overactive and fatigued. For all I know it could be something that I am doing in my sleep. I thought I had carpal tunnel once, but it turns out I was clenching my fists while sleeping and bending them back, all night while unconscious. I was prescribed gloves to wear while sleeping and that fixed that almost immediately. I also have a mouth guard that I have been wearing for about 10 years now because I chomp/grind my teeth at night. It makes me wonder if an abundance of stress or something is causing my eyes to fly around uncontrollably while sleeping, causing massive eye strain, yielding these symptoms mentioned here in this thread.
I do not exercise at all. I think what I am going to do is start doing so, perhaps in the evening, closer to going to sleep. I think this will help alleviate some of the stress I am feeling, which might in turn help me to sleep better? It's not very scientific, but at least I'll have improved my lifestyle a bit. We'll see what happens. I hate living with these symptoms, they are so debilitating for me.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and insights.
I recently got a new prescription for my glasses. Prior to that, I had been wearing the same pair for over 2 and a half years. The new prescription changed a lot. I've worn glasses for 15 years, so I know very well about adjusting to new lenses. In all my other cases of new glasses, it took me less than a day to adjust to them and I would never think about it again. This time around, something feels wrong. I had the prescription checked. It turned out being "slightly too weak". They got me a new pair of glasses with the new prescription but a few weeks later I'm experiencing the same issues. I feel a tightness in my forehead, I think right where my sinuses are located. I have never in my life had allergy problems, but I understand they can develop as life goes on. Yesterday out of desperation, I took a Zyrtec pill. 40 minutes later my left nostril was running and the left-eye pain I was experiencing also vanished. Today I took another Zyrtec, but the tightness/pressure in my head remains.
I am a software engineer that works way too many hours in the day. I originally labeled all of this as eye fatigue from having sat at the computer, but I recently went on a 2 week vacation where I wasn't looking at a computer screen at all. The day I went back to work, I was suffering from the same problem.
One thing I have noticed, is that I am having a crazy amount of dreams when I sleep. I can't be very scientific about this, but I believe the dreams all started about the same time? Eyes move around a lot during the REM cycle. I used to not dream very often at all. As a child I did, but all throughout my twenties dreams weren't very common. Someone up above asked about overactive eyes while sleeping. I had a sleep study once, it makes me wonder if I should do it again. It feels like my eyes are extremely overactive and fatigued. For all I know it could be something that I am doing in my sleep. I thought I had carpal tunnel once, but it turns out I was clenching my fists while sleeping and bending them back, all night while unconscious. I was prescribed gloves to wear while sleeping and that fixed that almost immediately. I also have a mouth guard that I have been wearing for about 10 years now because I chomp/grind my teeth at night. It makes me wonder if an abundance of stress or something is causing my eyes to fly around uncontrollably while sleeping, causing massive eye strain, yielding these symptoms mentioned here in this thread.
I do not exercise at all. I think what I am going to do is start doing so, perhaps in the evening, closer to going to sleep. I think this will help alleviate some of the stress I am feeling, which might in turn help me to sleep better? It's not very scientific, but at least I'll have improved my lifestyle a bit. We'll see what happens. I hate living with these symptoms, they are so debilitating for me.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and insights.
1 Comments
So I know the cure to this. I KNOW THE CURE! I suffered from this twice, once so bad for 3 months I could barely drive. This last time I only suffered a day because I knew what to do. You have to see an UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR...NOT a regular chiropractor. This is different. No back-cracking. They will take X-rays of your head and atlas and skull, then send you home. They will carefully study them and determine the precise angle to adjust your atlas and then when you return they will adjust you. Your atlas is the only non-interlocking bone in your spine, the one on top. It houses the control box! When it gets out of whack it messes up your nerves in the form of back/neck pain, ear ringing, vision, vertigo, and everything thing else imaginable.
You might notice a positive change right away. You might after a few visits. Then you are done. It will give you your life back.
NUCCA-certified is preferable--UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR!!!! I swear by it!
You might notice a positive change right away. You might after a few visits. Then you are done. It will give you your life back.
NUCCA-certified is preferable--UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR!!!! I swear by it!
30 year old male here working in IT Technical Support and I've battled similar symptoms on and off for the last year. It is extremely difficult to work when I'm feeling this way. I can closely relate to a few of you here in this discussion.
My symptoms are feelings of being off-balance, dizziness, delay when focusing my eyes, and pressure in my head between my eyebrows. Tasks that require cognitive abilities are more challenging than usual. I don't get nauseous when I experience these symptoms.
The things that seem to trigger my symptoms: nodding my head 'yes' frequently while talking, frequently turning my head, video games with quick camera movements (10 minute sessions or more can trigger symptoms), and often scrolling through a website with the mouse wheel. Part of my job involves physically moving around to help people with computer problems. If I do a lot of head turning, then it's almost a guarantee I'll experience symptoms. I am required to look up technical problems on the web, and scrolling through websites can cause symptoms.
When I remove myself from the triggers, the symptoms seem to reside after a few hours. Usually that means going to sleep and hoping the symptoms don't come back the next day. :)
To give some background, I have been diagnosed with:
-Generalized anxiety disorder
-Obsessive compulsive disorder
-Body dysmorphic disorder
-Autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis
-Chronic urticaria
-Allergies to dust, grass, pollen
I get motion sickness (with nausea) from riding in cars and planes. I have tinnitus-like symptoms, but I've never been diagnosed with it. Very rarely I'll notice a loud ringing in my ears (sometimes it seems to be in one ear or the other) and it slowly fades away. There is a crackling sound in my ears every time I swallow which I've had since I was a kid. I was in a bathtub and laid my head back into the water and that's the first time I remember having it. I always forget to mention it to my doctor because it just seems normal to me now.
A couple years ago, I had two acute vertigo attacks. I'd just gotten off a plane a few days prior and then the vertigo attacks happened one day after the other. I was working on a computer, stood up, and suddenly my vision started spinning and I felt extremely nauseous. It was like I'd gone from 0 to 20 shots of tequila in a matter of seconds. It was so bad that I had to get a taxi ride home from work. I saw my primary care doctor and he recommended a neurologist for brain imaging and vestibular testing. The imaging results looked normal despite sinus drainage. The vestibular test results were normal. I do feel like I need to follow up with my primary care doctor on my sinuses, because I still have sinus drainage down my throat.
I went to an optometrist late last year and was diagnosed with an astigmatism and demodex mite infestation. Sounds kind of gross, but I learned that most people have demodex mites living inside their eyelashes, and that there was a greater than average number of them on me. This explained my dry/itchy eyes in the afternoon. The doctor offered Blephadex foam cleanser to use twice a day to get rid of the demodex, and prescribed glasses to correct the astigmatism. However, he didn't think the mites had anything to do with my off-balance/dizziness symptoms and told me to look away from my computer screen every twenty minutes and focus on an object across the room. I started doing this and it seems to delay my symptoms a bit, but doesn't prevent them. Unfortunately, symptoms continued while wearing the prescription glasses.
To give some background on medications I am currently prescribed:
-Montelukast 10mg (1 time before bed for allergies)
Other things I currently take and/or have previously tested for symptom relief without success:
-Ibuprofen (as needed, but no more than 1600mg/day total)
-L-Theanine 200mg (2-3 times/day for anxiety)
-Caffeine (amount varies each day, but no more than 600mg total)
-Guduchi 700mg (3 times/day for sinuses)
I very recently started taking Guduchi, and it seems to help with sinuses.
-Multivitamin (on and off the last few months, occasionally I'd take it every day for months at a time)
-Transderm-Scop patch (no longer testing. seems to help with motion sickness on planes, but doesn't prevent primary symptoms)
-Tianeptine sulfate 25mg (1 time/day seems to help with overall mood and anxiety, but doesn't prevent primary symptoms)
-Ginger root pills
-Ginger chewing gum
-Aspirin
I drink 80oz of water each day on average and am fairly active. I exercise and do yoga on average three times a week and recently started meditating twice a day. I do want to mention that on days when I'm sleep deprived (less than 8 hours of sleep), my symptoms seem to occur more quickly and with increased intensity. To Notdizzynow, thank you for posting the link on PPPD: https://vestibular.org/pppd. I'll need to do more research on this because I think it sounds super similar to what what I'm experiencing.
I do seem to notice an improvement in my symptoms if I take my index finger and push and hold firmly on my forehead between my eyebrows. Might sound strange, but it seems to help.
Thank you to everyone here posting, and I hope we're all able to find a solution.
My symptoms are feelings of being off-balance, dizziness, delay when focusing my eyes, and pressure in my head between my eyebrows. Tasks that require cognitive abilities are more challenging than usual. I don't get nauseous when I experience these symptoms.
The things that seem to trigger my symptoms: nodding my head 'yes' frequently while talking, frequently turning my head, video games with quick camera movements (10 minute sessions or more can trigger symptoms), and often scrolling through a website with the mouse wheel. Part of my job involves physically moving around to help people with computer problems. If I do a lot of head turning, then it's almost a guarantee I'll experience symptoms. I am required to look up technical problems on the web, and scrolling through websites can cause symptoms.
When I remove myself from the triggers, the symptoms seem to reside after a few hours. Usually that means going to sleep and hoping the symptoms don't come back the next day. :)
To give some background, I have been diagnosed with:
-Generalized anxiety disorder
-Obsessive compulsive disorder
-Body dysmorphic disorder
-Autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis
-Chronic urticaria
-Allergies to dust, grass, pollen
I get motion sickness (with nausea) from riding in cars and planes. I have tinnitus-like symptoms, but I've never been diagnosed with it. Very rarely I'll notice a loud ringing in my ears (sometimes it seems to be in one ear or the other) and it slowly fades away. There is a crackling sound in my ears every time I swallow which I've had since I was a kid. I was in a bathtub and laid my head back into the water and that's the first time I remember having it. I always forget to mention it to my doctor because it just seems normal to me now.
A couple years ago, I had two acute vertigo attacks. I'd just gotten off a plane a few days prior and then the vertigo attacks happened one day after the other. I was working on a computer, stood up, and suddenly my vision started spinning and I felt extremely nauseous. It was like I'd gone from 0 to 20 shots of tequila in a matter of seconds. It was so bad that I had to get a taxi ride home from work. I saw my primary care doctor and he recommended a neurologist for brain imaging and vestibular testing. The imaging results looked normal despite sinus drainage. The vestibular test results were normal. I do feel like I need to follow up with my primary care doctor on my sinuses, because I still have sinus drainage down my throat.
I went to an optometrist late last year and was diagnosed with an astigmatism and demodex mite infestation. Sounds kind of gross, but I learned that most people have demodex mites living inside their eyelashes, and that there was a greater than average number of them on me. This explained my dry/itchy eyes in the afternoon. The doctor offered Blephadex foam cleanser to use twice a day to get rid of the demodex, and prescribed glasses to correct the astigmatism. However, he didn't think the mites had anything to do with my off-balance/dizziness symptoms and told me to look away from my computer screen every twenty minutes and focus on an object across the room. I started doing this and it seems to delay my symptoms a bit, but doesn't prevent them. Unfortunately, symptoms continued while wearing the prescription glasses.
To give some background on medications I am currently prescribed:
-Montelukast 10mg (1 time before bed for allergies)
Other things I currently take and/or have previously tested for symptom relief without success:
-Ibuprofen (as needed, but no more than 1600mg/day total)
-L-Theanine 200mg (2-3 times/day for anxiety)
-Caffeine (amount varies each day, but no more than 600mg total)
-Guduchi 700mg (3 times/day for sinuses)
I very recently started taking Guduchi, and it seems to help with sinuses.
-Multivitamin (on and off the last few months, occasionally I'd take it every day for months at a time)
-Transderm-Scop patch (no longer testing. seems to help with motion sickness on planes, but doesn't prevent primary symptoms)
-Tianeptine sulfate 25mg (1 time/day seems to help with overall mood and anxiety, but doesn't prevent primary symptoms)
-Ginger root pills
-Ginger chewing gum
-Aspirin
I drink 80oz of water each day on average and am fairly active. I exercise and do yoga on average three times a week and recently started meditating twice a day. I do want to mention that on days when I'm sleep deprived (less than 8 hours of sleep), my symptoms seem to occur more quickly and with increased intensity. To Notdizzynow, thank you for posting the link on PPPD: https://vestibular.org/pppd. I'll need to do more research on this because I think it sounds super similar to what what I'm experiencing.
I do seem to notice an improvement in my symptoms if I take my index finger and push and hold firmly on my forehead between my eyebrows. Might sound strange, but it seems to help.
Thank you to everyone here posting, and I hope we're all able to find a solution.
1 Comments
So I know the cure to this. I KNOW THE CURE! I suffered from this twice, once so bad for 3 months I could barely drive. This last time I only suffered a day because I knew what to do. You have to see an UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR...NOT a regular chiropractor. This is different. No back-cracking. They will take X-rays of your head and atlas and skull, then send you home. They will carefully study them and determine the precise angle to adjust your atlas and then when you return they will adjust you. Your atlas is the only non-interlocking bone in your spine, the one on top. It houses the control box! When it gets out of whack it messes up your nerves in the form of back/neck pain, ear ringing, vision, vertigo, and everything thing else imaginable.
You might notice a positive change right away. You might after a few visits. Then you are done. It will give you your life back.
NUCCA-certified is preferable--UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR!!!! I swear by it!
You might notice a positive change right away. You might after a few visits. Then you are done. It will give you your life back.
NUCCA-certified is preferable--UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR!!!! I swear by it!
Hello there, I am so glad to have found others experiencing similar symptoms. Its taken me a while to realise a link between screens because it can happen to me at any point in the day after using them. I have what I describe as absdnces for a couple of seconds. Feels a bit like ive been hit in the head & my brain shakes for a second or so then my vision slowly comes back. These have been getting worse & now if I look at screens the text 'dances'. I struggle to scroll through text or even look at people while talking to them if they are say rocking their baby side to side or if they nod or use a lot of hand gestures while chatting. Really worried about people not getting answers as it has been so debilitating for me that I'm not off work, had a negative EEG for epilepsy & 2 MRI's, one with contrast (awaiting results). I've read up about the non epileptic absence seizures but I just don't know what to think. Very frustrated & finding it hard to see the light at the end as to when I can go back to work
1 Comments
Check See sick syndrome and Visual vertigo. Might be one of those. I have only got to know these recently so sont know whether it is related.
I decided to try and look up similar symptoms to what I have been experiencing for the past 6 years and I was led to this blog.
My issues are as follows. If I am watching someones computer screen, and they are scrolling through the screens quickly, I feel this sensation, similar to what you feel just before you are going to pass out. At times I feel that when I am walking through a retail store when there are a lot of people around. Or, even in a grocery store. Very bizarre that it is not all the time, but I would say more so in the morning hours versus the afternoon. Though, as I type this, i had the issue a few minutes ago, so its not super repeatable.
A few years ago I told my doctor about this and he referred me to an ENT. She ran me through a bunch of tests to see if it was something with my ears, and that came out negative. She did some quick neurological test when she had me allow my head to fall back into her hands and she watched my eyes to see if they rocked back-n-forth. They did not, so I pretty much passed all those tests. I have not had a CT or MRI done, but the weird thing is that it will pass for a few months, and then randomly come back. Makes me wonder if this could be a seasonal thing?? (Allergy of some weird sort). Or, stress related? My vision has been checked and the Optometrist says all is good there too.
I used to have eye migraines years ago, but my doctor put me on some medication (common one, but I can't recall the name right now) to lower your heart rate. I do have a tendency for high blood pressure, but with this medication, its been under control for about two years.
I exercise daily, and am in good shape (almost 50 years old), but am very active. Sometimes I wonder if its sleep related. If my eyes overwork or strain while I'm sleeping, which may translate to fatigue in the eyes?? Not sure to be honest. Just bizarre and wish I could figure out what causes it. As you all know, you just hope it doesn't lead to a faint spell when your in a bad spot.
It's sort of comforting to know others experience this too, and are not able to find an answer. Though, I wish we all could.
My issues are as follows. If I am watching someones computer screen, and they are scrolling through the screens quickly, I feel this sensation, similar to what you feel just before you are going to pass out. At times I feel that when I am walking through a retail store when there are a lot of people around. Or, even in a grocery store. Very bizarre that it is not all the time, but I would say more so in the morning hours versus the afternoon. Though, as I type this, i had the issue a few minutes ago, so its not super repeatable.
A few years ago I told my doctor about this and he referred me to an ENT. She ran me through a bunch of tests to see if it was something with my ears, and that came out negative. She did some quick neurological test when she had me allow my head to fall back into her hands and she watched my eyes to see if they rocked back-n-forth. They did not, so I pretty much passed all those tests. I have not had a CT or MRI done, but the weird thing is that it will pass for a few months, and then randomly come back. Makes me wonder if this could be a seasonal thing?? (Allergy of some weird sort). Or, stress related? My vision has been checked and the Optometrist says all is good there too.
I used to have eye migraines years ago, but my doctor put me on some medication (common one, but I can't recall the name right now) to lower your heart rate. I do have a tendency for high blood pressure, but with this medication, its been under control for about two years.
I exercise daily, and am in good shape (almost 50 years old), but am very active. Sometimes I wonder if its sleep related. If my eyes overwork or strain while I'm sleeping, which may translate to fatigue in the eyes?? Not sure to be honest. Just bizarre and wish I could figure out what causes it. As you all know, you just hope it doesn't lead to a faint spell when your in a bad spot.
It's sort of comforting to know others experience this too, and are not able to find an answer. Though, I wish we all could.
Hi all! Michelle here. I just started having focusing problems on July 9th. I woke up and couldn't focus my eyes for more than a few seconds. My optometrist said my eyes were structurally perfect, and that I was having a migraine. My doctor said she noticed a nystagmus on my left eye and send me to an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmologist didn't see the nystagmus, and couldn't find anything wrong with me. Had a CT, it was clear. Being sent to a Neuro-Ophthalmologist in 2 weeks. My symptoms match all yours, and it's SO weird that the only things I find online are people with the same symptoms and absolutely no answers. I also might have a slight brow ptosis, but maybe it was always like that and I never noticed. I thought I had myasthenia gravis for a few days, but the ophthalmologist doesn't think so.
I do think my symptoms started to lesson today. I've started taking a multi vitamin and allergy/dryness drops even though my eyes don't burn or itch.
This is scary. I keep thinking, if my focusing muscles are weak, are the rest of my muscles going to follow? I don't know. My anxiety is destroying me.
I do think my symptoms started to lesson today. I've started taking a multi vitamin and allergy/dryness drops even though my eyes don't burn or itch.
This is scary. I keep thinking, if my focusing muscles are weak, are the rest of my muscles going to follow? I don't know. My anxiety is destroying me.
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