Book 1, Question 22
Why Do We Get Dizzy When We Spin? Wobbly Ear Fluid!
Spinning is fun until the room keeps spinning! Deep inside your ears are tiny fluid-filled loops called semicircular canals. When you spin, the fluid swirls along, and when you stop it keeps sloshing for a bit, so your brain thinks you are still moving. Tiny hairs inside the canals send those signals. The page adds that you have three canals in each ear, six in all, and invites you to spin twice slowly and record what you notice.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- Your semicircular canals look like three tiny tubes joined together.
- They sit in your inner ear, right next to the cochlea, the part that helps you hear.
- The tiny hairs inside the canals send signals to your brain through the vestibular nerve.
- Your brain reads those signals and tells your muscles how to keep you balanced.
- Once the fluid in the canals stops moving, the dizzy feeling goes away.
- Doctors call the feeling that the room is spinning when it is not vertigo. It usually comes from a problem in the inner ear.
- Dizziness is common. In 2008, about 15 percent of American adults, or 33 million people, had a balance or dizziness problem.
Sources: KidsHealth (Nemours), Cleveland Clinic, National Institutes of Health
Questions kids ask
Why does the room keep spinning after I stop?
The fluid in your semicircular canals keeps sloshing for a bit, so your brain thinks you are still turning.
What part of the ear helps with balance?
The semicircular canals in your inner ear. They are three tiny fluid-filled tubes lined with tiny hairs.