The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that poor eye health can cause headaches and dizziness. That is why you should have regular eye exams. Your eye doctor can then diagnose you and provide you with the right treatment to relieve your discomfort. Here are the details that you should know to know the connection between your eye health, headaches, and dizziness. 

Retinal Migraine

This is another name for ocular migraine. If you have this rare condition, you experience migraine symptoms and repeated attacks of short-term blindness or blurred vision. These vision changes may come before or with the headache. 

Having a retinal migraine is different from having a migraine aura. It often affects one eye and never both. The vision loss may be caused by a serious health condition. You must see your general doctor to determine what is causing it. Here are the symptoms that will tell you to do so:

• Speech changes

• Changes in the way one eye sees

• Vision changes or headaches after 50 years of age

• Vision changes that last for less than five minutes

• Weakness on one side of the body

• New changes in vision or headaches

• Vision changes even without head pain

Headaches and Eyestrain

Eye issues and headaches often have a connection. Headaches can give way to or cause eye problems. A tension headache can bring pressure to the back part of your eyes. It can also make your eyes sensitive to light. Eyestrain can trigger tension headaches. 

A migraine can cause severe pain behind the eyes and light sensitivity. This condition may also result from exposure to very bright lights. A cluster headache is a recurring, severe type of head pain. It can cause terrible, piercing pain around or behind your eyes. You may also experience light and sound sensitivity, as well as swollen eyelids and watery eyes. 

Dizziness

When you feel dizzy, you experience light-headedness or disorientation. It is not an ailment. It is a symptom of a condition that often affects the eyes or ears. Older adults are the ones who often experience dizziness. 

Statistics show that dizziness is common in about 20 to 25 percent of working adults and 30 percent of people above 65 years old. If you belong to these groups, you may feel dizzy if you have balance issues. You have balance because your inner ear, nerves, and eyes work together. There is dizziness because one of these systems is not functioning well. 

Dizziness and Vision Impairment

Binocular vision problems often cause dizziness. Misalignment makes it difficult for your eyes to focus. Your eyes cannot give your brain a single view of anything you are looking at. This situation can lead to eyestrain. When this happens, you experience headaches, dizziness, and disorientation. Research reveals that vision is important in calibrating your vestibular system via the VOR (vestibulo-ocular reflex). The VOR secures your vision while you move around. Any damage to your VOR will result in dizziness. 

Problems with your eye health can cause dizziness or headaches. Vision problems may also be a result of headaches. At Clarke EyeCare Center, we provide high-quality eye care to our patients. Please visit our centers in Wichita Falls and Burkburnett, Texas, for a one-on-one consultation. Call us at 940-905-0700 (Wichita Falls) or 940-569-4131 (Burkburnett) to schedule an appointment or ask about our eye treatment packages.