Nystagmus

What is nystagmus?

Nystagmus is a condition which causes rapid, uncontrollable eye movement in one or both eyes and usually causes vision problems. The eye movement is usually from side to side, but can be up and down or in a circular motion.

There are several different types of nystagmus. You can be born with it or develop it early in childhood. This is known as infantile nystagmus and may have been passed down through the family. Nystagmus can also appear later in life as a result of illness, injury, recreational drugs, or alcohol use. This is known as acquired nystagmus.

What causes nystagmus?

There are several different causes of nystagmus. It can happen because of problems with the balance system in the inner ear. The balance system usually tells the eye muscles how to move so that our eyes can keep looking at the same place when we turn our head.

Nystagmus in early childhood may be due to a faulty gene passed through the family. It can also be linked to conditions such as Down syndrome, albinism, brain disorders, and other eye conditions such as cataract or retinal disorders. In some children, however, the cause is unknown.

When nystagmus appears later in life it can be due to another condition, such as a stroke or multiple sclerosis. It can also happen as a result of injury, recreational drugs, or alcohol use.

What are the signs and symptoms of nystagmus?

Nystagmus causes an involuntary, wobbly movement of the eyes, usually from side to side. Your eyesight might be close to normal or be seriously reduced – it may cause long or short-sightedness – and it can make it hard to judge depth.

If you have nystagmus, you might feel tired easily, because it takes more effort to look at things. 

Is nystagmus serious?

The effects can vary depending on the the type of nystagmus, but it can affect your eyesight and make it harder to drive, work, and study. Especially if it develops later in life, nystagmus can sometimes be the first sign of a serious disorder of the eye or brain. 

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How is nystagmus diagnosed?

Nystagmus is diagnosed through eye tests, usually by an opthalmologist (hospital eye doctor). They will typically do a normal eye test and also measure the movement of the eyes. The type of nystagmus is usually based on the direction the eyes move in and how much they move.

What are the treatments for nystagmus?

There is no cure for nystagmus – glasses or contact lenses may improve sight but will not stop the eye movements. The first treatment is usually medication, which can sometimes reduce the nystagmus and improve vision. 

In some cases, surgery may be used to cut and reattach some of the eye muscles. Sometimes this works to slow the involuntary movements and improve vision. Some people have a "null point" which is an eye position where the nystagmus is reduced. In these cases surgery can help so that they don't have to turn their head so much to achieve the "null point".

What can help nystagmus?

If you or your child has vision problems from nystagmus, ask for support from your hospital's low visual aid service. Some people find that low vision aids such as telescopic and magnifying lenses may be helpful, as well as large print books.

And there is a wide range of assistive technologies that may help people in their daily lives, such as speech to text software.

What research is there into nystagmus?

Research aims to improve drug treatments so that they can work for more people or be better at controlling eye movement. We also need to understand more about the causes of nystagmus, as for some children the cause is not known.

We've funded many projects to better understand nystagmus and how it can be treated, and are currently funding more. 

In one project we're funding at the University of Leicester, a PhD student will develop a reliable method to measure the impact of glare in people who are born with nystagmus. They will then use these measurements to study how effective tools such as tinted glasses are for improving reading.

See our research projects