Can blocked ears really cause fainting?

This episode explores a striking clinical case involving recurrent fainting, dizziness, and long-standing earwax impaction (blocked ears). While fainting is usually linked to the heart or brain, this episode sheds light on two lesser-known ear-related mechanisms that could play a role: vestibular disruption and auricular (vagal) syncope.

We unpack how pressure changes in the ear can affect balance, how a branch of the vagus nerve runs through the ear canal, and why chronic stimulation of this pathway may trigger light-headedness or loss of consciousness in some individuals.