Central Alameda News

Lizzy Yarnold, a British skeleton racer, has battled infections and inner-ear problems in the past, but that didn't prevent her from winning gold in back-to-back Olympics.

When Yarnold set out to win gold in 2018, she never imagined such a common problem would stand in her way. Her issues were caused by a vestibular disorder affecting the inner ear. She also revealed having trouble breathing in a new much colder climate during the events and experiencing vertigo and sinus headaches without congestion, according to The Sun.

After first competing professionally in 2010, Yarnold went on to win gold medals in the Olympics in 2014 and 2018, according to Wikipedia. She is the most successful skeleton racer of any nation. Yarnold later revealed that shortly after arriving at the 2018 Olympics, she developed a chest infection, which intensified to the point that she was having trouble speaking and breathing.

Vestibular disorders affecting the inner ear are sometimes referred to as Labyrinthitis. Labyrinthitis is caused by inflammation of part of the inner ear known as the labyrinth, according to NHS Inform. The inflammation comes from infection, and 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," Dr. Matt D Hershcovitch of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said.

Yarnold tried many home remedies for sinus headaches in an attempt to dull the symptoms of her condition, and she was able to somewhat tame her symptoms and take home the gold medal in 2018, according to Wikipedia.

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.