Not sure who to ask...

"reykjavik" wrote in message

I tried googling aviation vertigo but basically nothing shows up and
what does seems to referr entirely to pilots of air fighter jets....

The point of the aviation vertigo references is not that the phenomenon is
restricted to fighter pilots, but that they are the most obvious example of
the effects.

You can feel [aviation] vertigo anytime your inner ear signals do not match
up with what your eyes are seeing. When your brain tries to process these
conflicting signals, confusion results. If the conflict is mild, as with
most people on an airplane, it is relatively easy to overcome. As you
accelerate and rotate to a flying attitude, your ears sense this but your
eyes see only the stationary, placid interior of the cabin. For most
people, the simple knowledge that you are on an aircraft taking off is
enough to allow your brain to reconcile the conflict.

Perhaps you've already tried this: Next time you're tavelling, make a point
of looking out of the window during take-off, so that your eyes confirm what
your ears are saying to your brain.

John Gaquin

John Gaquin wrote:
"reykjavik" wrote in message

I tried googling aviation vertigo but basically nothing shows up and
what does seems to referr entirely to pilots of air fighter jets....

The point of the aviation vertigo references is not that the phenomenon is
restricted to fighter pilots, but that they are the most obvious example of
the effects.

You can feel [aviation] vertigo anytime your inner ear signals do not match
up with what your eyes are seeing. When your brain tries to process these
conflicting signals, confusion results. If the conflict is mild, as with
most people on an airplane, it is relatively easy to overcome. As you
accelerate and rotate to a flying attitude, your ears sense this but your
eyes see only the stationary, placid interior of the cabin. For most
people, the simple knowledge that you are on an aircraft taking off is
enough to allow your brain to reconcile the conflict.

Perhaps you've already tried this: Next time you're tavelling, make a point
of looking out of the window during take-off, so that your eyes confirm what
your ears are saying to your brain.

John Gaquin

You know, now that you mention it, every time this has occurred, I have
been in an aisle seat not looking out, or in a window seat but it was
dark out so I didn't look out the window. And almost every time I have
been seated in front of the wings its because I was in first class (no,
Im not wealthy, I just spend all my miles on upgrades) and seated far
from the window (now that all the first class seats are fancy theyre
too big to be placed right up against the window). Plus when you're
behind the wings you have everything in front of you to look at passing
by, but if youre in front of the wings all you basically can look at
(since the cockpit obstructs your view) is the distant horizon or the
sky which I guess for me may not be enough to stave off this problem.

The only thing is, I do remember once a looong time ago not looking out
the window when the plane took off and I dont recall this happening.
Could it be a life transitional thing, meaning, something you just get
simply because youre older (like some people develop allergies later in
life, others lose their allergies altogether etc...)?

Also, is this "illness" (or whatever its called) serious in any way?

reykjavik wrote:

Also, is this "illness" (or whatever its called) serious in any way?

*If* it's vertigo, it can be symptomatic of certain serious illnesses (such as
cancer). Vertigo can also be caused by a sudden movement of the head, such as
might happen if your car were struck from behind. It can also be a reaction to
long-term overindulgence in caffeine.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

yeah see the issue is, I never have vertigo in any other instance. Ive
never had a problem with balance or dizziness, in fact I have rather
good balance. So this is either a vertigo issue that my inner ear is
sensitive to under extreme pressure instances, or something entirely
else, because outside of this very specific plane scenario, I never
have gotten that feeling before, or even a vertigo of a much milder
form. I can turn my head quickly a million times, get out of bed
quickly, stand up quickly etc... and I never get dizzy or have any
symptoms of anything else.

Its leading me to belive that after 25 years of major sinus infections
and awful allergies, my inner ear area may have gotten sensitive (or
possibly even scarred) and is now hyper sensitive to the pressure and
thus causes vertigo, or its a cardiac thing which is unlikely being
that I have no other symptoms and im 25, but hey, I've seen more
surprising things in my life (lets hope I don't tack this on to the
list).

On 21 Jan 2006 20:17:58 -0800, "reykjavik"
wrote:

yeah see the issue is, I never have vertigo in any other instance. Ive
never had a problem with balance or dizziness, in fact I have rather
good balance. So this is either a vertigo issue that my inner ear is
sensitive to under extreme pressure instances, or something entirely
else, because outside of this very specific plane scenario, I never
have gotten that feeling before, or even a vertigo of a much milder
form. I can turn my head quickly a million times, get out of bed
quickly, stand up quickly etc... and I never get dizzy or have any
symptoms of anything else.

Its leading me to belive that after 25 years of major sinus infections
and awful allergies, my inner ear area may have gotten sensitive (or
possibly even scarred) and is now hyper sensitive to the pressure and
thus causes vertigo, or its a cardiac thing which is unlikely being
that I have no other symptoms and im 25, but hey, I've seen more
surprising things in my life (lets hope I don't tack this on to the
list).


Good Lord, you gave me vertigo just reading this.

Get your head up straight, focus on infinity, and go with the flow.

Mike Dweller