Experiencing vertigo after flying can happen for several reasons. Air pressure changes, inner ear disorders, and factors like dehydration are just a few examples of possible causes.

Vertigo is the false sensation that you or the things around you are moving. People often describe it as a feeling of swaying or tilting. Sometimes, severe vertigo can make it difficult to retain your balance.

Vertigo arises from changes to your inner ear or your central nervous system (CNS). These areas of your body control your balance. When they face changes, they can send inaccurate signals to the brain that can result in vertigo.

Certain situations can contribute to vertigo even if you don’t experience it regularly. Flying, for example, exposes you to significant changes in air pressure. This may affect the structures of your ears or worsen existing vestibular (inner ear) conditions.

For some people, flying can also cause stress, states of dehydration, and fatigue.

Vertigo after flying can feel different for each person. People often describe it as sensations of:

  • tilting
  • swaying
  • spinning
  • dizziness
  • falling
  • whirling
  • rocking
  • floating
  • disorientation

You may also notice symptoms of motion sickness, such as:

  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • sweating
  • headache

A key factor that can contribute to vertigo after flying is the change in air pressure. The further away from the ground you get, the lower the air pressure becomes.

Your vestibular system relies on balancing pressure to maintain your balance and orientation in the space around you. If the atmospheric pressure changes too quicky for the structures of your ear to keep up with, it can result in imbalanced pressure that causes vertigo.

Changes in air pressure during a flight can do more than override your inner ear’s ability to maintain balance. Sometimes, it can injure a person’s inner ear. This is known as barotrauma or “airplane ear,” and it is due to inflammation of the ear drum.

Pressure changes can also aggravate pre-existing conditions of the vestibular system or the CNS, such as:

Other flight factors

Pressure changes can be a key cause of vertigo after flying, but other factors also play a role.

This includes symptoms that flying may induce, such as:

  • Stress: Flying can cause stress which can worsen symptoms of underlying conditions, like Meniere disease, that may lead to vertigo.
  • Fatigue and dehydration: When you’re dehydrated, fluid volumes in your body can decrease, affecting blood volume, inner ear fluids, and electrolyte levels. Fatigue can amplify the feeling of low energy and instability, which may worsen symptoms.
  • Moving sensation: For some people, vertigo can result from the sensation of moving without the visual of a fixed horizon. When you feel like you’re moving, but your brain doesn’t have a fixed reference point, it can result in a sensory mismatch that makes you feel dizzy.

Vertigo management after flying varies depending on the underlying cause of vertigo. Most mild cases don’t require medical treatment and people can often manage it by:

  • hydrating
  • resting in a quiet, comfortable place
  • sitting or lying down with their head still
  • deep breathing
  • keeping movements slow and controlled
  • taking ginger or other anti-nausea aids to relieve motion sickness symptoms

If vertigo persists after a flight, even with careful management, it may be helpful to speak with a doctor. They can rule out any other underlying causes.

The severity of vertigo and how long you experience it after a flight varies depending on the underlying cause.

Alternobaric vertigo, the type of vertigo associated with changing atmosphere pressure, generally resolves within a few minutes after pressure rebalances within the ears. Vertigo from other causes, like damage to the inner ear known as inner ear barotrauma, may persist for days, weeks, or months after flying.

Significant damage or inflammation in your ear from pressure changes, as well as pre-existing conditions, can all cause long-lasting vertigo.

For some people, vertigo is a temporary, harmless experience. For others, it may be a symptom of more serious medical conditions. There’s never a wrong time to discuss it with a doctor.

You may need urgent medical care if your vertigo hasn’t resolved a few hours after your flight, or it is accompanied by other significant symptoms such as:

Vertigo after flying can occur for many reasons. Flying exposes you to rapid changes in atmospheric pressure, which can be a stressful experience complicated by factors like dehydration and fatigue.

When vertigo doesn’t go away within a few hours of flying or is accompanied by severe symptoms, speaking with a doctor can help you rule out underlying medical conditions.