Acquired Brain Injuries
What Causes Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)?
There are many ways a person can experience an ABI, including:
- Alcohol or drugs – excessive consumption can cause brain damage
- Diseases – such as brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease
- Lack of oxygen – called anoxic brain injury, usually caused by near-drowning, choking or suffocation
- Physical injury – such as an impact or blow to the head, which may occur during a fall, in a sporting or vehicle accident, or from an assault
- Stroke – such as an embolism or other blockage of the blood vessels or a transient ischemic attack (TIA)
How ABI affects a Person’s Vision
ABI’s can significantly impact the functioning of the visual system. While certain brain injuries may cause permanent damage to the optic nerve, it’s more common for it to disrupt the pathways that enable communication between the eyes and brain.
Visual problems may include:
- Dizziness
- Double vision
- Focusing problems
- Headaches
- Problems with walking and stride
Treatment for Vision Affected by ABI
Neuro-optometrists offer a customized treatment regimen for people with visual deficits resulting from acquired brain injuries.
First of all, your neuro-optometrist will assess your vision and visual skills during a comprehensive neuro-optometric exam. Based on those findings, your doctor will design a neuro-optometric rehabilitation program to address your specific needs. The focus of the treatment will be managing low vision and vision rehabilitation to improve functioning, including any learning disorders.
The goal of neuro-optometric rehab is to minimize visual disability so that a patient can carry out daily activities like walking, reading and driving.
Neuro-optometric rehab utilizes special prescription lenses, prism lenses or patching, depending on the visual problem that needs treatment.
With the right treatment paired with a customized neuro-optometric rehabilitation program, many patients find that their symptoms improve almost immediately, leading the way toward long-term healing. For more information about neuro-optometry please contact Opto-mization NeuroVisual Performance or to schedule a neuro-optometric vision evaluation.
Our practice serves patients from Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia and surrounding communities.
Tennis/Pickleball
The speed and accuracy of your return, or your ability to read the spin of the ball, all depend on how your eyes and brain work together. Pros have known this for years and spend lots of time working on their depth perception and tracking. Vision therapy can take your tennis or pickleball to the next level.
Tennis/Pickleball
The speed and accuracy of your return, or your ability to read the spin of the ball, all depend on how your eyes and brain work together. Pros have known this for years and spend lots of time working on their depth perception and tracking. Vision therapy can take your tennis or pickleball to the next level.
Golf
Do you put it too short or too long? You’re using your depth perception to gauge how far the hole is and how hard to hit the ball. Many people have to routinely ‘look past the hole’ or aim for the front of the cup in order to be more accurate. This is usually because they are not judging the distance accurately to begin with. Another common pain point in golf is not being able to see your ball after you’ve hit it. Problems with how the eyes track and work together can create problems tracking your golf ball, but fortunately, these are easily remedied.
Reading and Hobbies
Getting tired when you read? Not able to read for as long or as quickly as you used to? It’s common for eye tracking or eye teaming (binocular problems) to cause problems with reading. This can show up as fatigue, falling asleep, headaches, strain, and reduced comprehension. Many people end up slowly avoiding reading, knitting, woodworking, or other hobbies that require sustained focus.
Computer Screens
Computers can be a really helpful tool for emails, research, and all sorts of amazing things. However, problems with how the eyes work together, or how glasses are set up, can create headaches, light sensitivity, difficulty focusing, and more with prolonged screen time.
Related Conditions
If you have been diagnosed with any of the following conditions, it may increase your likelihood of having problems with how your eyes work together:
- Vestibular neuritis
- Meniere’s
- Stroke
- Concussion
- Headaches
Our Approach
We go beyond the routine eye health testing to investigate how your eyes and brain work together. This includes eye tracking, binocular function (eye-teaming), visual-vestibular integration (eye and inner-ear), and more. We have a variety of tools we can use to get the improvement you’re looking for.
Specialized Glasses
We are able to design specialized prescriptions (Ergopathics™) that do more than allow you to see clearly. Ergopathics™ prescriptions can improve how efficiently your eyes and brain work together. This can significantly improve driving, balance, reading, and more.
Vision Therapy (Opto-mization Training)
You may also be a candidate for vision therapy. Our Opto-mization Training Vision Therapy recalibrates how your eyes and brain work together and enhances your performance.
If you’re struggling with driving at night, balance, dizziness, depth perception, reading, or just feel like your vision is affecting your daily life, please book an assessment.