Vertigo – Can cataracts cause vertigo?

The poor eyesight that occurs as a result of cataracts can sometimes leave you feeling off balance (a condition known as disequilibrium). However, there is no established link between cataracts and vertigo. 

Disequilibrium is, simply, a loss of the body’s equilibrium, and may lead to you feeling a bit wobbly and off balance. It can also affect your depth perception (your ability to judge the length, width and depth of something, or how far away an object is) and cause spatial disorientation (your awareness of your body’s motion and position). It can often leave sufferers feeling like they’re about to fall. Some people describe it as a feeling that the floor is tilted and balance is difficult to achieve as the spatial awareness needed to know where the floor is, is lacking. Sometimes it can also leave a sufferer feeling a little like they’re floating. 

Vertigo, on the other hand, is an abnormal sense of motion, which leads someone to feel like the room is spinning. It can also give a sufferer the impression that everything around them is moving, sometimes making them feel sick. Vertigo can also cause temporary loss of hearing as it’s usually caused by problems with your inner ear; often caused by infection. Attacks can last from a few seconds to several hours or, in severe cases, even days or months. 

The NHS advises that most cases of vertigo will get better and go away without needing any treatment. 

Cataracts are not a known cause of vertigo as it isn’t a condition that is related to the eyes.