Motion sickness and visual impairment

Motion sickness (MS) is caused by exposure to unfamiliar movements. The theory is that MS is due to a conflict between information perceived by the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory systems. This study examines the role of vision in MS by comparing MS susceptibility among individuals with varying degrees of visual impairments to sighted individuals. We hypothesized that subjects with no perception of light would be less susceptible to MS than less impaired subjects, who would themselves be less susceptible than sighted subjects. To address these, the Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (MSSQ¹) was administered to 340 subjects (170 visually impaired paired with 170 sighted subjects) to assess their susceptibility to various modes of transport under real conditions. Visually impaired subjects were divided into subgroups according to the presence (partially sighted) or absence (totally blind) of light perception, as well as the period of onset of impairment (congenital or acquired). Totally blind individuals are significantly less susceptible to MS than partially sighted (p = 0.001), and sighted (p < 0.001) subjects, with no difference between partially sighted and sighted subjects (p = 0.526). Additionally, acquired totally blind subjects are less susceptible to MS than congenitally blind subjects (p = 0.038). Thus, despite a lower susceptibility totally blind subjects may still be susceptible to MS. The absence of vision reduces MS susceptibility but does not completely prevent it. This suggests that vision is more a mediator, than an essential condition for MS appearance.