Try to maintain your balance standing on one foot. Now try to balance on one foot while holding your earlobe – it’s much easier, isn’t it? That’s because there are a set of interconnected canals in your ear that play a big role in sustaining your balance. Sinus infections can cause pressure in these canals that can lead to dizziness and nausea.
Acute or chronic sinus infections block your sinus passages and can cause fluid build-up in your ears that put pressure on your eardrum and on the inner functions of your ear. This build-up and pressure can affect what is known as your vestibular labyrinth, which is used by the brain to determine balance. The vestibular labyrinth is made up of three looped tubes in each ear called the semicircular canal. When the pressure and build-up from a sinus infection affects these canals, it can cause the fluid to move and give you a dizzy sensation.
Other side effects like nausea typically accompany the feeling of vertigo, which can leave you feeling much more discomfort on your road to recovery. When a sinus infection reaches the point of dizziness, the infection is usually substantial and needs medical attention. More severe cases of sinus-related dizziness can be related to, or even cause, vertigo if serious damage is done to the vestibular labyrinth from unwanted build-up and/or pressure. So it’s best to attack the issue sooner than later.
If you’re feeling dizzy from a sinus infection or from similar symptoms and are unsure of what to do, CT Sinus Center is a great place to start. When you first come in, we’ll take the time to sit down with you and thoroughly discuss your symptoms and medical history before we begin up-to-date diagnostics. Once we get to the root of your vertigo, we’ll find a treatment that is the right fit for your lifestyle. You may even be a candidate for balloon sinuplasty, a noninvasive, in-house procedure done with local anesthesia, that promotes natural drainage and healing, leaving you sinus pressure-free and your world a lot more steady.
Schedule an appointment with one of our experienced physicians before things spin out of control. Call 860-BALLOON to schedule an appointment at one of CT Sinus Center’s four conveniently-located offices – Kent and Waterbury.
For additional information on sinus-related conditions or treatments, read more about CT Sinus Center and take a look at our blog.