Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. Brain tumorĪ brain tumor can press on the nerves and muscles of the eye, causing the eyes to move out of alignment. Surgery to repair cataracts can also cause this condition although it isn’t common for this to happen.

Injury to the bones of the eye socket can lead to a strabismus like hypertropia. The damage to the thyroid gland can affect eye muscles, causing them to work improperly. An autoimmune disease is a disease in which your body’s immune system fights against healthy cells. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that targets the thyroid gland. According to the National Stroke Association, two thirds of people who experience a stroke encounter vision changes afterward. A blood clot that leads to a stroke can also damage the nerves that help control the movement of the eyes. StrokeĪ neurological event, like a stroke, is the most common reason adults experience a turning of the eye, such as hypertropia. That restricts movement of the eye muscle.Ĭauses in adults are different from the causes when first seen in childhood. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, one of the cranial nerves may not develop normally. This is another strabismus problem that people can be born with. It’s also possible to acquire Brown syndrome following an injury to the eye socket, such as being hit by a hard object, or by dental or sinus surgery. Doctors aren’t sure what causes the syndrome, but it’s commonly seen at birth. That, in turn, restricts the eye’s movement. Brown syndromeīrown syndrome is a condition that causes a tight superior oblique tendon. This causes the eye to tilt upward.Ī child may be born with a weakened or paralyzed fourth cranial nerve or develop it after a head trauma, such as a concussion. When the fourth cranial nerve is paralyzed (palsy) or weakened, it can’t control the superior oblique muscle correctly. The nerve sends impulses to the muscle, which controls the downward movement of the eye. The fourth cranial nerve travels from the brain stem to a muscle on the surface of the eye, called the superior oblique muscle. The most common cause of hypertropia in children is fourth cranial nerve palsy. There are several conditions that can cause hypertropia in children.

Split pupil in eye