Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation for Vestibular Dysfunction: What You Need to Know

Balance is something we often take for granted. We get out of bed, we walk to the bathroom, we make a cup of coffee — all without thinking about it. 

Yet, any dysfunction in our vestibular system, which is responsible for balance, can turn our world quite literally on its head. Dizziness causes one-quarter of emergency room visits in the United States.

Neuro-optometry can play an invaluable role in restoring your vestibular function by targeting vision. In this way, the team of neuro-optometry specialists at DeyeNAMICS routinely helps patients regain their balance. Here’s how.

Exploring your vestibular system

Let’s first take a look at your vestibular system, which works 24/7 to guide you through the world.

Your vestibular system includes three key components:

1. Inner ear

Your inner ears contain semicircular canals, sensory hairs, fluid, and nerves that work together to inform your brain and body about where you are in space. For example, when you move your head, fluid in the inner ear moves and influences the direction of the sensory hair cells, which tells your brain about the position of your head.

2. Your brain and body

Your inner ear connects directly to your central nervous system, which tells your body how to adapt to changing positions. This reflex, called the vestibulospinal reflex, influences your posture, joints, and muscle tone to maintain balance.

3. Your vision system

Your eyes, the last piece of the vestibular puzzle, coordinate with your brain for spatial processing and balance. About 20% of the nerve fibers connecting your brain and eyes are involved in vestibular function.

Finding balance through neuro-optometry

Given the role your vision system plays in your overall vestibular function, it’s an important area to target when you have balance issues.

Balance issues can be caused by something minor and temporary, such as an ear infection, to a major event like a stroke, concussion, or infections like Lyme disease. And like other parts of your body, your vestibular system can decline with age, leaving you more prone to balance issues that lead to falls.

Our work helps restore the connections between your inner ear, brain, body, and eyes so that they work together to keep you steady on your feet. 

For example, we may use specialized lenses to help your eyes provide the right visual input to your brain. We also use targeted therapies like Neuro-Visual Postural Therapy™, which include exercises designed to improve your spatial visual processing.

See how neuro-optometry can help you

The work we do is an important aspect of vestibular rehabilitation, and we’ve helped many patients to find their balance again.

If you’re experiencing vestibular dysfunction, we invite you to explore how neuro-optometry can help. Contact us at one of our offices in Sacramento, Bellflower, or Valencia, California; Guildford, Connecticut; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; or Plano, Texas, to set up an appointment.