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  • Why do I experience dizziness when switching between glasses and contacts?


    Question:

    I have two very different eye prescriptions (-8 and -4) which makes me very dizzy to switch between glasses and contacts. Is there any way to fix this? Also, what is this condition called?


    Answer:

    Assuming that the numbers you provide are correct, then you have a quite a bit more than average difference between your eyes and it seems as if, fortunately, you have preserved good corrected vision in each eye. There is no name for this; it is a variant of biology in which your two eyes developed with different powers. The wearing of contacts compensates for this by causing the image sizes from your two eyes to match better, but when you switch to eyeglasses, that difference becomes more evident and the brain struggles to adapt. You can continue in this manner as long as the adaptation works. You might consider LASIK surgery which could normalize both eyes and eliminate the difference between them.


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