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Article | AAO 2026

What Visual Hallucinations and Illusions Can Tell ODs About Low Vision

For optometrists, the phenomena discussed in the session provide additional context for patient reports that may initially appear inconsistent with conventional acuity and visual field findings.

By: Sarah Fackler, managing editor, Optometric Management and Eyecare Business
Optometric Management October 3, 2026
5 Key Takeaways

  • 1

    Visual hallucinations can cause significant anxiety in patients with vision loss, often leading them to fear psychiatric disorders.

  • 2

    Charles Bonnet Syndrome is characterized by visual hallucinations in patients with vision loss, without other neurologic symptoms.

  • 3

    Patients may experience perceptual phenomena like palinopsia, where images persist after the visual stimulus is removed.

  • 4

    Statokinetic dissociation allows perception of motion in blind visual fields, differing from blindsight, which involves shape recognition.

  • 5

    Understanding and distinguishing hallucinations from delusions can help reduce patient anxiety and improve clinical management.