Symptomsofhydrocephalusvarywithage,diseaseprogression,andindividualdifferencesintolerancetothecondition.Forexample,aninfant'sabilitytocompensateforincreasedCSFpressureandenlargementoftheventriclesdiffersfromanadult's.TheinfantskullcanexpandtoaccommodatethebuildupofCSFbecausethesutures（thefibrousjointsthatconnectthebonesoftheskull）havenotyetclosed.
Ininfancy,themostobviousindicationofhydrocephalusisoftenarapidincreaseinheadcircumferenceoranunusuallylargeheadsize.Othersymptomsmayincludevomiting,sleepiness,irritability,downwarddeviationoftheeyes（alsocalled"sunsetting"）,andseizures.
OlderchildrenandadultsmayexperiencedifferentsymptomsbecausetheirskullscannotexpandtoaccommodatethebuildupofCSF.Symptomsmayincludeheadachefollowedbyvomiting,nausea,papilledema（swellingoftheopticdiskwhichispartoftheopticnerve）,blurredordoublevision,sunsettingoftheeyes,problemswithbalance,poorcoordination,gaitdisturbance,urinaryincontinence,slowingorlossofdevelopmentalprogress,lethargy,drowsiness,irritability,orotherchangesinpersonalityorcognitionincludingmemoryloss.
Symptomsofnormalpressurehydrocephalusinclude,problemswithwalking,impairedbladdercontrolleadingtourinaryfrequencyand/orincontinence,andprogressivementalimpairmentanddementia.Anindividualwiththistypeofhydrocephalusmayhaveageneralslowingofmovementsormaycomplainthathisorherfeetfeel"stuck."BecausesomeofthesesymptomsmayalsobeexperiencedinotherdisorderssuchasAlzheimer'sdisease,Parkinson'sdisease,andCreutzfeldt-Jakobdisease,normalpressurehydrocephalusisoftenincorrectlydiagnosedandneverproperlytreated.Doctorsmayuseavarietyoftests,includingbrainscans（CTand/orMRI）,aspinaltaporlumbarcatheter,intracranialpressuremonitoring,andneuropsychologicaltests,tohelpthemaccuratelydiagnosenormalpressurehydrocephalusandruleoutanyotherconditions.
Thesymptomsdescribedinthissectionaccountforthemosttypicalwaysinwhichprogressivehydrocephalusmanifestsitself,butitisimportanttorememberthatsymptomsvarysignificantlyfromonepersontothenext.
