Do you frequently experience headaches in and around your eyes, forehead, temples and sinus areas? Is your quality of life suffering due to recurrent headaches and migraines that don’t receive relief from medication? In our practice at Vision Specialists of Michigan, we routinely treat people who were previously diagnosed with sinus problems, headaches and migraines, yet still struggle with frequent headaches and dizziness – despite multiple visits to doctors and specialists and a myriad of treatments and medications. In these cases, the patients are often suffering from undiagnosed Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD).
When a Headache Is More Than It Appears
Many people who think they have sinus headaches have been misdiagnosed and actually have a binocular vision problem, a result of the eyes being slightly out of alignment. Even the smallest misalignment can wreak havoc, as eyes muscles become strained and overworked in an effort to correct the problem. The amount of stress that’s put on the eyes as they struggle to compensate for this misalignment is great, and the painful physical symptoms that result are often mistaken for other conditions such as:
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Migraines. Characterized by severe pain in the head, nausea and vision problems, and sensitivity to light and sound, migraines can easily incapacitate a person. A visual misalignment can cause similar symptoms, as the strain on the eye muscles from the constant fight to bring the eyes back into alignment can cause eye pain and discomfort.
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Atypical migraines. Unlike a regular migraine, which typically is preceded by a visual signal that alerts of an oncoming episode, an atypical migraine often starts with a throbbing pain in the head. Atypical migraine symptoms may actually be evidence of an eye misalignment, and once the misalignment is treated, the symptoms often disappear.
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Tension headaches. When the eyes are out of alignment, the eye muscles become locked in a never-ending battle as the eyes continually work to realign themselves. The ongoing stress and strain on the eye muscles feels the same to many people as a muscle tension headache.
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Sinus headaches. The pain and pressure felt from a sinus headache is similar to what is felt by those suffering from the overuse and overexertion of their eye muscles due to a visual misalignment. When that misalignment is treated, the facial pressure is relieved and long-term headache relief is the result.
Obviously, regular headache treatments aren’t going to be much help if the cause of the headache is a vision misalignment. That’s where the specialists at Vision Specialists of Michigan come in. Our doctors do everything in their power to ensure that the patients who come to us receive the care they need, starting with a comprehensive NeuroVisual Examination to verify that a binocular vision dysfunction is present. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, patients are then prescribed customized aligning micro-prism lenses to provide the help that traditional headache and migraine treatments can’t.
Get Started on the Path to Recovery
If you’re searching for relief from headaches and dizziness, let the team at Vision Specialists of Michigan help. Call us at (248) 258-9000 or fill out our screening questionnaire, and you could soon be back to living and enjoying a headache-free life.
