What Is Oscillopsia? (2024)

Oscillopsia is a visual disturbance that makes it seem like things you’re looking at are moving when they are not. Oscillopsia is not a condition but a symptom associated with neurological disorders like epilepsy, inner ear problems like Meniere's disease, or eye motor problems like nystagmus.

Oscillopsia may resolve on its own once the underlying condition is treated, but chronic (persistent) cases may require medications or visual therapies to help you better cope.

This article describes the symptoms and causes of oscillopsia, including how it is diagnosed and treated.

Oscillopsia Symptoms

The most common symptom of oscillopsia is the feeling that objects and surroundings are moving even though they are stationary. People with oscillopsia often report that they see things jumping, vibrating, shaking, or jiggling. This might happen when your head or body is moving or when you're staying still.

Oscillopsia can trigger other symptoms, such as:

• Blurry vision
• Vertigo
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Lack of coordination
• Difficulty maintaining balance

What Causes Oscillopsia?

Oscillopsia is largely associated with dysfunction of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). This is the mechanism involving the eyes, brain, and inner ear that helps you maintain balance and perceive things accurately while moving your head or body.

When your eyes and head are not in sync, objects will appear to be moving even if they are still.

Among the medical conditions associated with VOR dysfunction are:

• Epilepsy (a condition characterized by recurrent seizures)
• Multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disease that attacks the lining of nerve cells)
• Brain stem stroke (caused by an obstruction of blood flow to the brain)
• Traumatic brain injury (often due to a severe fall or high-velocity blow to the head)
• Whiplash (the violent jerking of the head that can injure the brain stem)
• Brain tumors (especially those located in the cerebellum, brain stem, or ocular system)
  
• Meniere's disease (a disorder caused by changes in fluid in the inner ear)
• Meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain often caused by a bacterial or viral infection)
• Whipple's disease (a rare bacterial infection affecting joints, the digestive system, and the brain)
• Superior oblique myokymia (a rare condition causing twitching eye movement)
• Nystagmus (a condition characterized by involuntary eye movements)
• High-dose antibiotics (most commonlyaminoglycoside antibiotics like gentamicin)

How Oscillopsia Is Diagnosed

If you have symptoms of oscillopsia, your healthcare provider will review your medical history and ask questions about your symptoms, including when you experience them. They will also conduct an eye exam to check for any problems with your eye alignment.

Your provider may also perform an oculomotor test. This involves moving your eyes horizontally and vertically to assess how severe your headaches, dizziness, nausea, and fogginess are on a scale of 0 to 10.

To identify the underlying cause of oscillopsia, your healthcare provider may order additional tests and procedures, including:

• Blood and urine tests
• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Otoscopic ear exam
• Neurological exam
  
• Electrocardiogram and echocardiogram

How Oscillopsia Is Treated

Opsillopsia is treated based on the underlying cause. When it is related to VOR dysfunction, the chances of recovery are good. This is because the brain has the ability to rebuild neural networks, referred to as neuroplasticity, after the underlying condition is resolved.

Even so, people with oscillopsia need to manage their symptoms, and there are treatments that can help. With certain chronic conditions, like multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, ongoing management may be needed.

Medications

There isn't a specific drug to treat oscillopsia, but the following are sometimes prescribed to help reduce abnormal eye movements that contribute to oscillopsia:

• Baclofen
• Gabapentin
• Clonazepam
• Valproate
• Memantine
  

Visual Therapy

An optometrist can help with exercises that strengthen the eye and improve eye control. A range of exercises can help improve the symptoms, including looking at lines using different filters and lenses.

Vision therapy also helps with eye movements. People with oscillopsia who participate in this form of treatment can potentially regain control over eye movement, especially when the condition is in an early stage.

Prognosis

The prognosis for oscillopsia will depend on the diagnosis and stage of the underlying condition. Some problems, such as VOR dysfunction, can be treated and monitored. In other cases, the person will need to learn to live with oscillopsia.

Generally speaking, if the underlying cause of oscillopsia is resolved, the chances are good that oscillopsia resolves itself as well.

Other Conditions That Cause You to See Things

There are conditions other than oscillopsia that can cause you to see things that are not there. The cause of this may be neurological (involving the brain), ocular (involving the eyes), or psychiatric (involving the mind).

Examples include:

• Charles Bonnet syndrome: A condition caused by vision loss that causes you to see lines, patterns, and actual objects that aren't there
• Diplopia: Also known as double vision, in which you perceive two images of a single object
• Hallucinations: Seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or touching things that only exist in your mind
• hom*onymous hemianopia: A condition often caused by a stroke that can cause you to see halos, flashes, bright fog, or distorted shapes
• Myodesopsias: Also known as "floaters," caused by changes in the jelly-like substance in the eye that leads you to see dark shapes floating across your vision
• Photophobia; The perception of overly bright light caused when the retina doesn't narrow as it's supposed to, often the result of medications or certain medical conditions
• Photopsias: Flashes, sparkles, or halos caused by eye problems like a detached retina or macular degeneration, or neurological conditions like migraine
  

Summary

Oscillopsia is when you see things that appear to be moving but aren't. It can occur as a result of a neurological, inner ear, or eye problem that affects the vestibulo-ocular reflex. This is a mechanism involving the eyes, brain, and inner ear that helps you maintain balance and perceive things correctly when your head moves.

Oscillopsia usually resolves on its own once the underlying condition is treated. Some people may require medications or visual therapies to help them adapt and better cope with persistent symptoms.