Sleep apnea and dizziness

Most people know that Sleep Apnea if left untreated can cause many serious health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, strokes and high blood pressure. But does it cause dizziness?


Besides having to deal with sleep apnea I also suffer from Meniere’s disease, which is a disorder that causes severe vertigo attacks. The reason for meniere’s varies, some say it’s due to a virus and others point to an excessive fluid buildup in the inner ear. The only thing that is certain is there is no cure for it. The best that you can do is control the symptoms (vertigo, nausea) with medication, supplements and diet restrictions.

The conflict between sleep apnea and meniere’s for me is my fluctuating blood pressure. In the past I have had problems with extremely high blood pressure and low blood pressure. When my blood pressure is low I feel very light headed and dizzy. (I should note that the dizziness that I experience is different from the vertigo experienced during meniere’s.) If I ease up on the medication my blood pressure gets higher, I get bad headaches. Now, I can imagine that my sleep apnea which causes high blood pressure really plays havoc with my meniere’s.

I know that one doctor that I spoke to felt that in away there was a connection between the sleep apnea and meniere’s. He also suggested that if the sleep apnea was corrected the meniere’s wouldn’t be as bad. I’m not sure about that but it is interesting that he saw a connection.

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