Interior Alaska News

Lizzy Yarnold suffers from inner ear problems that came close to keeping her from winning Olympic gold in 2018.

When Yarnold's sights were set on gold in 2018, she never imagined such a common issue would stop her from reaching her goals. Her issues were caused by a vestibular disorder that affected the inner ear. She also revealed having trouble breathing in a new much colder climate during the events while experiencing vertigo and sinus headaches that came without congestion, according to The Sun.

Yarnold had previously won gold in the Olympics in 2014, according to Wikipedia. She is the most successful skeleton athlete of any country. Shortly after Yarnold arrived at the 2018 Olympics, she developed a chest infection that intensified to where she was having issues speaking and breathing.

Yarnold tried many home remedies for sinus headaches in an attempt to dull the symptoms of her condition. While dealing with her condition, she fell to third in the standings, but was able to somewhat tame her symptoms and was able to take home the winning gold, according to Wikipedia.

Labyrinthitis is often what people refer to when referencing vestibular disorders that affect the inner ear, and is caused by inflammation of part of the inner ear known as the labyrinth, according to NHS Inform. The inflammation comes from an infection that is usually bacterial, or in some cases viral.

"Unfortunately, it does not resolve very quickly for some people, and a lot of people who have chronic sinusitis and allergies have this as a chronic problem," said Dr. Matt D. Hershcovitch of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.

Most bacterial infections clear up within 10 days and are typically caused by a common cold, according to the Mayo Clinic. You should see a sinus inflammation specialist when things do not clear up after that long, things get worse or you have a history of recurrent or chronic sinusitis and sinus headache.