Glaucoma is often referred to as the “silent thief of sight” because most types typically cause no pain and produce no symptoms. For this reason, glaucoma often progresses undetected until the optic nerve has been irreversibly damaged, with varying degrees of permanent vision loss.
But there are other forms of the disease (specifically, acute angle-closure glaucoma), where symptoms of blurry vision, halos around lights, intense eye pain, nausea, and vomiting occur suddenly. If you have these symptoms, make sure you immediately see an eye care practitioner or visit the emergency room so steps can be taken to prevent permanent vision loss.