Could my new glasses be causing my dizziness?

Thats probably because your eyes and your brains need to get used to the glasses, it might take a few days.

If there are no other changes that you can think of, and if you are only feeling slightly dizzy, I would say it is because of the new glasses. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them (in like a month or so).

I wear glasses. Usually when I get a new prescription my hand-eye coordination ceases to exist for a few days (can’t catch thrown balls, can’t play sports because I’m always the slightest bit off) and I get occasional headaches until my brain readjusts. My readjustment period is quite short because I’m used to glasses.

Your experience is a bit different from mine—are you saying that when you first got the glasses you didn’t feel dizzy, and it’s only a week and a half later that you began feeling odd? I think it couldn’t hurt to call your opthamologist, especially if this doesn’t go away in another week. Even if it’s normal, he or she might have tips to help you deal with it.

Probably the glasses, I was once told it can take up to a month to adapt, particularly if it’s a significant increase in prescription. It could also be a bad centering alignment. If it gets worse, doesn’t go away, or you just can’t cope return them, have them check everything out, and try out a new pair. But a lot of times they really want you to try for 30 days before deciding.

Oh, and the size of the lenses can do that too, if you went from larger to smaller it can be disorienting for a while, particularly when moving quickly.

Heh… when I first read the title I thought it said “new glass eye… feeling dizzy”. Maybe I need new glasses…

@kvantblue
Yeah it only started a few days ago. Initially my eyes just felt tired, normal getting used to glasses thing. This is different and weird.

I would think that if it were the glasses, you would have had this feeling start before now. Call your eye doctor- sometimes eyes can change due to allergies, pressure behind the eye and other things. Let them know that they were fine for almost a week and a half- it’s only recently that they’ve bothered you.

ETA- If you are running a fever or feeling fluish then I would contact your regular doctor. It could be an inner-ear issue.

I had that happen with mine and I took them back to be done over.

@lucillelucillelucille
Did it work – the dizziness went away?

Yes.

Hello; I am an Audiologist and a long-time user of corrective lenses.

The disorientation that can happen following a change in prescription is typically related to depth preception, such as missing the step or being able to catch a ball as @kyanblue describes. Also, when you are moving, the curvature of the lens sends a distorted image to the brain. I once had the eyeglass lab put my prescription in backwards (my Right eye is much worse than my Left) and that really had me off-kilter! They did correct the error. It couldn’t hurt to have the prescription of your lenses double-checked.

However, you say that you feel as though you are swaying – even when you are sitting still. Does it occur even when the glasses are off or your eyes are closed? Ocular influences on our equilibrium typical manifest as an inconsistency with how we are relating to the space around us. But if you feel as though you are moving, that is more often an inner ear or neurological factor of the complex balance system.

This time of the year is when many people experience dysequilibrium, and it seems to relate to the change in the seasons, allergies, and pressure changes in the sinuses and ears. Dehydration really exacerbated this, as do fatigue/lack of sleep, and poor nutrition; assuming by your name that you are a female, your cyclic hormonal changes can also play a part.

So as with most minor malaise, the first recommendation is to simply take better care of yourself… take it easy, drink lots of fluids that do not have caffeine or alcohol in them, and eat nutritionally balanced meals. If you have medications that you take, be sure to take them consistently as directed. If this feeling persists after a few days, see your Doctor.

See a Doctor as soon as you can if you get a more intense spinning sensation with nausea, ringing in the ear(s), changes in hearing or vision (with or without the glasses on), or headaches. I hope you feel better soon!

@hearkat
Wow, thank you for all that info!

The swaying is both with and without glasses – I have no problems when sleeping, only sitting up.
I had a baby two months ago – maybe that could be a reason? So of course I am sleep deprived too.. Well, I will give it a few days as you say and then see the doc if it persists.

A new prescription can make you dizzy, even if it is correct. I hear people say that when they go to bifocals they get dizzy. I don’t wear glasses, except for reading, so I don’t know first hand.

This is also common if your glasses are progressive lenses, which are kind of like bi-focals, but without the line in the lens.

@johanna Mine was more better than @hearkat‘s! Cause, it was like, lots shorter! Lots easier to read when you’re dizzy!

@Val123
And I gave you tons of lurve for it, just didn’t want to ruin it’s greatness with a long response…

LOL!!

@Val123: LOL4rl!

@johanna: I remember the sleep deprivation of new mommyhood well – and that was almost 19 years ago! That certainly can add to your wooziness. So I will remind you that in order to be the best mommy you can be, you need to take care of yourself! Are you nursing the baby? Extra fluids are needed then. Are you still taking vitamins?

Hello. I had the same symptoms last week after wearing my over-the-counter reading glasses most of the day, on and off, while in a training class. I hardly ever wore them before, never more than a few minutes. I started feeling dizzy after a couple of days but it got better over the weekend when I wasn’t wearing them at all for a day or two. I had the same symptoms as you and I figured it was my glasses. I am sure the quality isn’t as good as prescription. It’s a terrible feeling and I hate it! I hope you start feeling better soon!