Visual Motion Hypersensitivity
Visual motion hypersensitivity occurs when your brain becomes overly sensitive to visual stimuli—like scrolling screens, crowded spaces, or fast-moving environments. This can lead to symptoms like dizziness, disorientation, eye strain, and even nausea. Often following a concussion, vestibular event, or extended screen exposure, the brain struggles to integrate visual and balance input, resulting in sensory overload.
At Sparq Physical Therapy in Castle Rock, CO, we help patients with visual motion hypersensitivity retrain their nervous system through gentle, progressive vestibular rehab. Whether your symptoms started suddenly or have been building over time, we’ll guide you through a personalized treatment plan to reduce sensitivity and help you feel more grounded and confident.
Affected Area
Visual motion hypersensitivity involves the visual system, vestibular system, and central nervous system—particularly how the brain integrates input from the eyes and inner ear. When these systems become out of sync, it affects eye movement control, postural stability, and sensory processing, leading to discomfort in motion-heavy or visually complex environments.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include dizziness, nausea, eye fatigue, or imbalance triggered by visual motion, such as scrolling on a phone, riding in a car, walking through a grocery store, or being in a crowd. Many patients describe feeling overwhelmed, foggy, or "off" in visually stimulating settings, even if their hearing and inner ear function appear normal.
Treatments
Treatment focuses on helping your brain adapt to visual motion again by gradually increasing exposure in a controlled, therapeutic way. At Sparq PT, our vestibular specialists develop a tailored program that may include:
Visual-vestibular exercises to improve coordination between eye and head movement
Habituation therapy to gradually reduce motion-triggered dizziness
Balance training to improve stability and confidence in busy environments
Breathing and grounding techniques to calm the nervous system
Home strategies and screen-use modifications to prevent symptom flare-ups
With consistent therapy, most patients see a noticeable improvement in visual tolerance and overall quality of life.