Vertigo after flying: how long does it last?

Cabin pressure changes can affect the middle ear, especially when a flight includes blocked ears, congestion or difficult equalising during descent. A brief rocking feeling can also follow travel because the brain is readjusting to stable ground. True vertigo feels as though you or the room is moving; lightheadedness is different and may feel more like faintness. Inner-ear conditions such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be triggered or noticed after travel. A middle-ear infection, migraine or Meniere's disease can also cause spinning with other symptoms.

Sit or lie somewhere safe when spinning starts, move your head slowly and avoid driving, ladders or swimming until your balance is reliable. Drink fluids and rest after the journey. Do not repeatedly perform head-position exercises unless a clinician has shown that they suit your symptoms; an Epley manoeuvre is used for a particular positional pattern, not every cause of vertigo. Arrange a review if episodes keep returning, hearing changes persist, ear pain develops or symptoms interfere with walking.

Seek urgent medical help for vertigo with new weakness, facial drooping, trouble speaking, fainting, severe headache, chest pain, inability to walk safely or repeated vomiting. Prompt assessment is also needed for sudden hearing loss, severe ear pain or symptoms that began after a head injury. These warning signs are not explained by ordinary post-flight pressure alone.

Ask whether the timing and triggers suggest a positional inner-ear problem, pressure-related ear irritation, migraine or another cause. Tell the clinician whether turning in bed triggers spinning, whether hearing is affected, what medicines you take and whether the episode started during ascent, descent or after landing.