12/05/2025
When temperatures drop, your body quietly reroutes energy toward staying warm. But that shift affects your ears, nose, throat, and sinuses in surprising ways:
🌬 Your nose becomes a humidifier.
It warms and adds moisture to every breath—up to 20,000 times a day. In winter, that workload doubles, which is why congestion or nosebleeds can suddenly spike.
🧠 Your inner ear reacts to temperature changes.
Cold air can irritate nerves that influence balance and pressure, leading some people to feel dizzy or experience more ear “popping.”
🫗 Your throat dries faster than you notice.
Indoor heating reduces humidity to desert levels. The vocal cords can dry out in minutes, which is why winter often brings that “scratchy throat” even before an infection starts.
🦠 Your sinuses slow their defenses.
Cooler air reduces the movement of cilia—the tiny brushes that sweep away irritants and germs—making sinus infections more likely.
Winter doesn’t have to be uncomfortable, but it does ask your body to work differently.
Pay attention to the small shifts: morning congestion, pressure changes, persistent throat-clearing, or sound sensitivity.
Peak ENT & Voice Center is here to support your respiratory and sensory health—so you can breathe, hear, and speak with ease all season.
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