MS can cause damage to the nerves that control the muscles that allow eye movement. “There are no surgeries that can treat nystagmus, but vestibular rehab can help with some of the dizziness and balance problems.” Diplopia “This is one of the more challenging things to treat,” says Newsome, who typically uses medication as first-line therapy for the nystagmus. While treatment is limited, it may include off-label use of medications such as gabapentin. The condition may go away and come back, or it may be persistent, per the NMSS. Nystagmus can occur in MS if the parts of the brain that control eye movements are damaged, according to MedlinePlus. You may find that you hold your head at an angle to reduce symptoms, notes the NMSS.
If you have nystagmus, you may perceive the world as wiggling, and “it can make people feel sick to their stomach or unbalanced,” says Newsome. It can happen when looking straight ahead or when you move your eyes. The movement is usually fast and can be up and down, side to side, or circular. Nystagmus, sometimes called “dancing eyes,” is involuntary and uncontrolled eye movement that can impair your vision, according to the NMSS. A blurred or dim spot (scotoma) may occur in the center of your visual field, or you may completely lose your vision in the affected eye. The condition may cause pain with eye movement, blurry vision, dim vision, or loss of color vision. Optic neuritis typically occurs in one eye, but in some cases, you may experience it in the other eye at a later date, per the NMSS. While the specific cause of optic neuritis is unknown, it’s thought to develop when your immune system erroneously attacks the substance covering your optic nerve, which leads to inflammation and damage, notes the Mayo Clinic. The condition is the first symptom of MS for about 20 percent of people who have the disease, and 50 percent of people who have MS experience it at some point in their disease course, according to the Neurology and Therapy review. Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic (vision) nerve, is a common symptom of MS, according to the NMSS. It’s important for people with MS to have regular visits with an ophthalmologist to help diagnose and treat the eye conditions that can occur when you have MS, notes the American Academy of Ophthalmology. If you have any symptoms affecting your eyes or vision, see your doctor. Vision problems can negatively affect quality of life for people living with MS, due to reduced ability to participate in activities, daily life limitations, and decreased driving ability, according to the Neurology and Therapy review. However, the prognosis is good for recovery from many of these vision problems, notes the NMSS. Some of the eye complications associated with MS include optic neuritis, nystagmus, and diplopia. Per a review published in June 2021 in Neurology and Therapy, the most common vision problems among people who have MS include reduced visual sharpness and contrast sensitivity, changes to color vision, and ocular motility disorders (disorders that affect the motion of the eyes). Eye and vision problems commonly occur among people who have multiple sclerosis (MS), and they're often the first symptom of MS for many people, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS).