I don’t know what happened to me today - maybe an inner ear infection is setting in, or maybe seasonal allergies are giving me inner ear pressure that is causing disequilibrium - but starting around 3-1/2 hours ago, I started to get kind of dizzy. Even just sitting in my chair at work I feel like I stepped off of a teacup ride at an amusement park a few minutes ago (not quite as bad as the “just stepped off” or “still on the ride” type of feeling); and while walking around, I’ve had to feel for the wall once or twice.
While I wait for this feeling to go away (after taking some Claritin on the hopes it is allergy related - sometimes it is), I realized that the direction of the spinning sensation I have is clockwise, and pretty much always is, when I get dizzy spells.
I did used to hope I was coming into my mutant powers, but at age 44 I guess I have to concede that if it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. Too bad, flying or teleportation would sure beat taking the subway and bus home.
Is this consistent from person to person? Is it because I’m in the Northern Hemisphere, due to the Coriolis Effect? Or is it because I’m not a practictioner of Black Magic whose vertigo would spin widdershins? I’ve narrowed it down to one of those two.
I’ve never really thought about it, but best I can remember, the world always spins clockwise when I get dizzy. I also live in the northern hemisphere, am right handed, male, do not practice any magic and prefer Coke to Pepsi. If any of that matters.
My vertigo when flying instruments is that the plane is going to the left and down so when straight & level I think i am going right so I hold my head to the left which seems more where ‘up’ should be. So, which way is my dizzy going? Hummmmmm
Pilots are taught to believe the instruments and instructors try to give them vertigo so they can know how hard it is to over come for some of us. Many get over even getting it after years of flying.
Not me, no sir, got it all the time. Yep, all the time. I do not have to think what to do, I don’t wonder if I will get it, I always have it. I just fly with it anyway.
My regular instructors learned that they did not have to try to make me ‘spin out’ because I had beat them to it. Bawahahahaa
Actually wild gyrations or having me see flashing lights or reaching for stuff on the floor just made me better. Doing acrobatics is never a problem even if all is see is dry blue or wet blue.
Now that let down through the clouds with no gyros that I described in the 'exciting things you have done thread had me sweating for sure.
My older sister always spun out the other way when she got it. My Dad claimed to only have had it once while on instruments.
As I get older, I am sure to spin out here on the surface so I need to see which way I go. Should be interesting.
When I used to get falling-down drunk, the world would spin end-over-end, coming from behind me and rushing down in front of me.
I don’t recall ever being dizzy due to illness, so I’m not sure if non-alcoholic dizziness spun some other way for me. But the drunken dizziness… lord it was awful. Why did I do that to myself?!
This definitely has nothing to do with the northern hemisphere or the Coriolis effect.
If this is due to something in the inner ear, it may be that it affects only one side (always the same) and this is why your vertigo is always to the same side.
You may want to get that checked out ASAP. I had dizzy spells like that at work and when I went to the ER to get it checked out they discovered that I was so severely anemic that I almost needed a transfusion.