brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
Symptoms of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension usually begins with a daily or almost daily headache, which affects both sides of the head. At first, the headache may be mild, but it varies in intensity and may become severe. The headache may be accompanied by nausea, double or blurred vision, and noises within the head that occur with each beat of the pulse (called pulsatile Ear Ringing or Buzzing ). A few people do not have any symptoms. Increased pressure within the skull may cause the optic nerve to swell near the eyeball—a condition called Papilledema . Doctors can observe the swelling by looking at the back of the eye through an The first sign of vision problems is loss of peripheral (side) vision. People may not notice this loss at first. As a result, people may bump into objects for no apparent reason. Vision may be blurred briefly, sometimes triggered by changing position, and blurring may come and go. Late in the disorder, vision is blurred, and people may quickly become blind. As many as one third of people lose their vision, partially or completely, in one or both eyes. Once vision is lost, it usually does not return, even if the pressure around the brain is relieved. In some people, the disorder becomes chronic and progressively worse, increasing the risk of blindness. Doctors closely monitor and treat such people to prevent loss of vision. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension recurs in about 10 to 20% of people. 