Living with Charles Bonnet syndrome

Charles Bonnet syndrome is a condition that causes hallucinations and usually occurs after someone experiences significant sight loss. It can be a complication from eye diseases such as  macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or other eye conditions that cause low vision. The NHS Charles Bonnet webpage includes more information on symptoms and causes.

Although it can be unsettling to see things that aren’t there, visual hallucinations are a typical brain response to sight loss. It’s thought that the brain is trying to compensate for the loss of information from the eye by producing vivid images. 

The hallucinations can last between a couple of minutes and several hours, but they tend to happen less frequently as time passes.

Living independently with Charles Bonnet syndrome

In the following video, Nathan shares his experience of living with Charles Bonnet syndrome.

Seeing vivid images can make some aspects of daily life more difficult, like moving about and navigating objects around you. Therefore, you might find the hallucinations more manageable in places you're familiar with, like at home. Also, low vision-aids, such as a cane, can be especially helpful when hallucinating to help identify what is or isn’t a hallucination.

More complex hallucinations involving people or landscapes, for example, can be disconcerting and intrude more on day-to-day life. Differing tactics can work better for different people, so try some of those we’ve listed in the ‘Methods for managing Charles Bonnet syndrome’ section on this page.

If you’re living with sight loss and Charles Bonnet syndrome, there are lots of ways we can support you.

At Guide Dogs, we have a wide range of services, both with and without guide dogs, and a team of experts who can work with you to understand your needs and agree on a plan that’s right for you.

How we could help you:

• Habilitation or rehabilitation of important life skills
• Our guide dog service
• Our Vision Rehabilitation Specialists can make recommendations best suited to you and your needs
• Tips and advice to help you make the most of your remaining vision
• Resources and support on how technology can improve your independence

Methods for managing Charles Bonnet syndrome hallucinations

Generally, hallucinations caused by Charles Bonnet syndrome worsen when you don’t get enough sleep or you’re stressed, so being on top of your overall wellbeing is important. Other methods to cope with and minimise the impact of hallucinations include: 

• Adjusting the lighting when hallucinations happen. If they tend to occur in darker settings, try turning up the lights. If they happen in a bright room, dimming the lights could help.
• Changing what you're doing when hallucinations happen. For example, if you’re sitting down when they start, stand up and move around, or give yourself a task like making a cup of tea or switching on the radio or television.
• Moving your eyes. While holding your head still, move your eyes from left to right about once a second, 15 times. Try and repeat this up to four or five times to see if it helps.
• Looking straight at the hallucination and blinking quickly, or even reaching out as if to touch it.

Working with Charles Bonnet syndrome

As it’s common to develop Charles Bonnet syndrome in conjunction with another eye condition, it’s likely you’ll need adjustments at work. Employers have a legal responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your needs. Speak with your manager about how the condition affects you and the type of support that will be the most effective.

However, as Charles Bonnet syndrome tends to be more common among older people with age-related eye conditions, statistically many people who develop the condition won’t be of working age.

Support for people living with Charles Bonnet syndrome

Talking about the condition with someone you trust can help relieve some of the worries you might feel, especially early on. It might be hard talking to family and friends about it, but confiding in them could make it easier for them to help you.

If your hallucinations make you feel upset or distressed, you might benefit from counselling with a mental health professional. Speak to your GP about how to get this kind of support.

One of the best sources of support can be speaking to other people living with the condition. You might find it reassuring to hear what it's been like for others who've had similar experiences. They can often suggest tips and resources you might not hear about elsewhere.

• The Macular Society has a Charles Bonnet syndrome support group. Their helpline can put you in touch with other people with Charles Bonnet syndrome and with a professional counsellor.
• The charity Esme's Umbrella campaign for better awareness of Charles Bonnet syndrome and have resources on their website.
• The Vision Rehabilitation Specialist teams at Guide Dogs and Guide Line have experience supporting people with sight loss who are also affected by Charles Bonnet syndrome. 

Edited and reviewed by Susie Baker, Principal Vision Rehabilitation Specialist on 21 May 2025

Guide Dogs is committed to working alongside people with a range of vision impairments, who are registered as either sight-impaired or severely sight-impaired.

Our staff undergo comprehensive training in supporting individuals with vision impairment, to enable us to support you every step of the way through one of our many services, with and without dogs. We foster knowledge of living with vision impairment and create content in collaboration with our Vision Rehabilitation Specialists and Habilitation Specialists.

This content is periodically reviewed as we continue to embrace new knowledge and up-to-date information, in order to improve how we deliver our services and advice.

Please note: Whilst Guide Dogs may be able to suggest various third-party websites which may be able to assist you, those are not endorsed by Guide Dogs. Guide Dogs have no control over those third parties and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of information and support they can provide or the suitability and quality of any products or services they provide.

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