Dizziness

Suffering from constant or frequent bouts of dizziness or lightheadedness can be overwhelming, especially when treatments are not providing you with substantial relief. Being dizzy can be dangerous, making it difficult to complete even the simplest of daily tasks.

It may be your eyes:

Dizziness

Suffering from constant or frequent bouts of dizziness or lightheadedness can be overwhelming, especially when treatments are not providing you with substantial relief. Being dizzy can be dangerous, making it difficult to complete even the simplest of daily tasks

It may be your eyes:

vertical heterophoria

Many of our patients have been previously diagnosed with inner ear or vestibular problems such as Meniere’s Disease, vertigo, vestibular migraine, psychogenic dizziness, Chronic Subjective Dizziness (CSD) or Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) and have tried to get help. If you have attempted countless treatments, medications, and have seen multiple doctors and are still overwhelmed and looking for dizziness relief, what you may actually be suffering from is Binocular Vision Dysfunction.

Binocular Vision Dysfunction & Dizziness

In order to see clearly, your eyes have to be perfectly aligned and synchronized with each other. Binocular Vision Dysfunction is a condition where there is a vision alignment error leading to a very subtle misalignment of the eyes. This would lead to double vision if left unchecked, so the body corrects the error by overusing the eye muscles to realign the eyes. This creates a back-and-forth cycle of misalignment/realignment, which the brain interprets as “there is movement”, even though objects are still. This false perception of movement can cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded, nausea and unsteady walking, which are symptoms that are common to many of the conditions that these patients have been previously diagnosed with including:

Do you have Binocular Vision Dysfunction?

Meniere’s Disease:

People suffering from Meniere’s Disease have problems with dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, unsteady walking and imbalance, and/or ringing in the ears. Many of our patients have been diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease because they present with similar symptoms due to their vision misalignment, and when treated with our vision aligning lenses, are able to find relief from dizziness.

Vertigo:

Patients who have been diagnosed with vertigo experience episodes of dizziness, being unbalanced, or feel as if they are spinning. This is caused by a problem within the inner ear. Typically, when a patient is experiencing vertigo their symptoms can be alleviated by traditional methods. However, if you have been experiencing dizziness and spinning and are unable to find relief, you may actually be suffering from Binocular Vision Dysfunction. Once you have been prescribed aligning lenses and are able to combat the vision misalignment cycle, you will experience significant relief from dizziness.

Vestibular Migraine (or Migraine Associated Vertigo):

Migraine headaches can be preceded by distorted vision which is called an aura. This aura is caused by spasms of the arteries in the visual region of the brain, causing decreased blood flow to that region, which causes the distorted vision. A similar mechanism occurs with vestibular migraine, where there is a spasm in the arteries of the balance centers of the brain, causing decreased blood flow resulting in dizziness. vestibular migraine is treated with medications that are used to treat migraines headaches including medications that decrease artery spasm, as well as anti-depressant medication. However, when your dizziness is actually caused by vision misalignment, traditional treatments for vestibular migraines may not help. Our specialized aligning lenses interrupt the misalignment/realignment cycle, allowing your eyes to be able to see one, clear image, thus removing the sensation of movement and providing you with dizziness relief.

Psychogenic Dizziness or Chronic Subjective Dizziness or Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness:

People with Binocular Vision Dysfunction have had previous evaluations that were unable to find the cause of the dizziness. When a person complains of a symptom where a cause cannot be found, the doctors may think there might be a psychiatric problem such as Psychogenic Dizziness or Chronic Subjective Dizziness or Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness. Almost all of our patients that were eventually diagnosed with Binocular Vision Dysfunction were told at one time that “it is all in your head; you are making this up; you are crazy”. Treatment with aligning lenses not only provides you with dizziness relief, it also validates your sanity to your doctors, family, and friends.

Vestibular Disorders:

The vestibular system includes your inner ear and parts of your brain which control your balance and your eye movements. When damaged, you can experience chronic dizziness and severe imbalance. However, when your dizziness and balance issues are actually caused by a vision misalignment, traditional treatments for vestibular disorders may not help. Our specialized aligning lenses allow your eyes to be able to see one, clear image, interrupting the misalignment/realignment cycle, thus removing the sensation of movement and providing you with dizziness relief.

Here at Vision Specialists of Michigan, we provide a thorough and comprehensive vision examination. Our compassionate doctors will utilize the results of your examination to determine the extent of your vision misalignment. To treat and alleviate your symptoms, we prescribe specialized aligning lenses. This treatment differs from your standard eye glass prescription by treating both your Binocular Vision Dysfunction as well as any additional vision impairments you have, allowing your eyes to work together. Once the misalignment/realignment cycle has been interrupted, the perception of movement resolves, providing you with significant dizziness relief.

Suffering from severe dizziness and lightheadedness not only prohibits you from performing the simplest tasks. It can also be dangerous. Let the doctors at Vision Specialists of Michigan help you with your Binocular Vision Dysfunction. Complete the screening questionnaire or contact us today to determine if we can help you experience dizziness relief.

give us a call today at

248-258-9000

or complete our online

BVD questionnaire

Want to learn more about Binocular Vision Dysfunction?

Watch these videos of BVD patient experiences:

Child with Binocular Vision Dysfunction Finds Balance with Glasses

5 Minute Cover Test for Binocular Vision Dysfunction

Professional Colleagues Discuss Binocular Vision Dysfunction

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It may be your eyes

  • American Academy Optometry
  • American Optometric Association
  • Michigan Optometric Association
  • VEDA
  • Neuro Optometry Rehabilitation Association

Dr. Sandy DiPonio earned her optometry degree from Illinois College of Optometry in 1996. She is a highly skilled and experienced eye care professional dedicated to giving her patients of all ages excellent and compassionate care. She has a wide variety of experience in binocular vision, pediatric and adult eye care, ocular disease and contact lens fitting. She strives to provide each of her patients the best quality of life they can achieve with their vision through knowledge and education of treatment options.

Dr. DiPonio is a member of the American Optometric Society and Michigan Optometric Society.

Dr. Sally Hoey has been practicing optometry since graduating from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001. During her time in optometry school, she developed an interest in binocular vision, culminating in a senior thesis involving binocular vision.

Prior to joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, Dr. Hoey specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of vision-related learning problems as well as other binocular vision disorders. Her other areas of interest include specialty contact lens fittings and treating dry eye. Dr. Hoey strives to provide her patients with clear, comfortable vision while meeting their individual needs at the same time.

Dr. Hoey had the opportunity to provide eye care on an optometric mission trip to Guyana, South America and vision screenings at a local medical clinic. She is a member of the American Optometric Association, Michigan Optometric Association, Metropolitan Detroit Optometric Society and the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.

Dr. Jennifer Place graduated with honors from Michigan College of Optometry in 2001.

Before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan, she specialized in treating pediatric and adult patients with binocular vision disorders and vision-related learning problems, as well as fitting specialty contact lenses and managing various types of ocular disease. She enjoys working with patients with unique visual needs, and she takes great pride in providing all patients with highly customized care.

Dr. Place has volunteered for Opening Eyes, a program that provides eye exams to the athletes of the Michigan Special Olympics, and she participated in an international mission to St. Lucia to provide eye care to those in need. Dr. Place is a member of the Detroit Optometric Society, the Michigan Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the College of Vision Development, and the Optometric Extension Program Foundation.

Dr. Mary Jo Ference has been practicing optometry since 1990 upon graduating from Ferris State University- Michigan College of Optometry, and is certified in Low Vision Rehabilitation. She has worked at Sinai-Grace Hospital systems for over 20 years before joining Vision Specialists of Michigan in 2013 to work with binocular vision disorders. Her clinical areas of expertise include visual rehabilitation of pediatric and adult patients who have suffered from brain trauma, injury or disease. She has taught both optometry and ophthalmology residents at Sinai Grace Hospital. Dr. Ference has sat on numerous boards, including Sinai Grace Hospital, Berry Out-Patient Surgical Center, and Seedlings Braille Books for the Blind. She is actively involved in area school districts to provide education, training and access for students, teachers, OT’s and PT’s to eye care service rehabilitation information. Dr. Ference has lectured extensively nationally and internationally.

Dr. Debby Feinberg began practicing Optometry in Oakland County in 1983, upon graduating from Illinois College of Optometry. She joined her father, Dr. Paul C. Feinberg, at Mall Optical Center, which was located in Summit Place Mall.

Since 1995 Dr. Feinberg has been developing the field of NeuroVisual Medicine which is the optometric subspecialty that identifies and treats neurological / medical symptoms that originate directly or indirectly in the visual system.

Dr. Feinberg has been performing pioneering work with Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD), a condition where a vision misalignment (frequently subtle) creates difficulties with the two eyes working together to create a single 3-dimensional image, and difficulties with the two eyes following that image as it moves.

The symptoms caused by BVD are not usually associated with problems with the visual system, and include headache, dizziness, anxiety and panic, persistent post-concussive symptoms, gait instability and balance problems, frequent falls, neck pain, motion sickness, nausea, and reading and learning problems.

In 2004. Dr. Feinberg established Vision Specialists of Birmingham, specifically designing the practice to accommodate the needs of the NeuroVisual Medicine patient.

In 2011, the office moved to its current location in Bloomfield Hills and updated its name to Vision Specialists of Michigan.