Can anyone think of why altitude would be affecting my MAV like ongoing balance symptoms? I live in Colorado Springs, altitude 6500 feet, and I spent last weekend in Dallas with my cousin, altitude 700 feet. I almost felt normal during the entire weekend with my cousin. I get back home, and it's back to my half off balance self. What was it about Texas that made me feel so good? Besides the fact that it is such a beautiful state and I was having so much fun with my cousin... Could altitude have something to do with it?
So, a few anecdotal accounts of problems living in Colorado then but no real science behind it. Well, I'm going to go see my cousin again soon in Texas, I'll have to see if the clearing of my symptoms happens again. If it does, perhaps I have a difficult decision to make...
True. However there is much science behind ear barotrauma - also commonly referred to as aerotitis media, barotitis media or aeroplane ear - & how altitude & air pressure influences the inner, middle & external ear. It is physics 101. While possibly effecting even healthy ears, if the middle ear's impaired, or compromised for one reason or another (including nasal congestion, flu, the common cold etc), it may experienced greater difficulty when attempting to equalise, or take longer periods of time to equalise when pressure is either increased or decreased due to altitude levels, or atmospheric conditions in general. The inability to equalise, the processes required to equalise - which may further aggravate a compromised middle ear - pressure disequilibrium or additional disequalibrum may result in dizziness, ear discomfort or pain, slight hearing loss - or increased hearing loss if your hearing is already compromised - & aural fulness; all of which influence an individuals sense of balance. An increase in atmospheric pressure, equalising a ear pressure that is otherwise in a state of disequalibrum at higher altitudes/lower pressures, perhaps? Of course, this is only one of many possibilities, as Scott Tom has suggested.
Okay, so your saying that it is basically easier for the ear to manage itself at higher barometric pressures. I've lived in Colorado for 15 years and never had a problem before now, but now that my ear is diseased from all the Meniere's trauma, now the low atmospheric pressure is something my diseased ear has a problem with. That might make sense. I'll test this theory again when I visit my cousin in a couple months. I have a hard time thinking allergies are the cause. I had typical amounts of congestion in Texas, similar to what I experience here in Colorado, which is to say not much, as my allergies have been almost put into remission by something else I am doing to help address them. Those efforts have been largely successful, my allergies are only a fraction as bad as they used to be, but I still have the balance problems. Just didn't have those problems in Texas. Maybe Colorado just doesn't agree with me. I don't actually even like living here. I'd move tomorrow if I could.