The sensor that detects changes in air pressure may actually sit inside your ear.
"My head gets heavy as a typhoon approaches." "My body feels sluggish for no reason right before the weather turns." If either of these sounds familiar, it isn't your imagination and it isn't overblown. This discomfort, known as weather-related illness, is thought to relate to how a small organ in the inner ear responds. Start with a self-check to find your own type of discomfort.
Why Pressure Changes Cause Discomfort — The Inner Ear's Pressure Sensor
According to research by Professor Jun Sato and colleagues at Aichi Medical University, the organ believed to sense changes in air pressure is the otolith organ, located in the inner ear. The otolith organ normally senses the tilt and acceleration of the body, but it has become clear that it also responds to small changes in air pressure. When pressure shifts, signals from the otolith organ are thrown off, making the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system more likely to dominate, which is thought to lead to headaches, dizziness, and low mood. Professor Sato is also the person who opened what's said to be Japan's first "weather-related illness clinic" at Aichi Medical University Hospital.
Feeling unwell during periods when pressure swings sharply over a short time, like around a typhoon or the end of the rainy season, isn't a matter of effort or stamina — it can be attributed to this small sensor reacting sensitively.
A Japanese Cultural Perspective | Koromogae, the Wisdom of Marking the Seasons
Japan has long held the custom of koromogae. At each change of season, not just clothing but even a room's furnishings and everyday items would be refreshed, resetting body and daily life to match the new season. Rather than simply swapping clothes, it's said to have been wisdom for deliberately marking the turning point of "the season has changed" across your entire way of living.
During this period of unstable pressure and climate, it helps to see it as a moment to reset not just your body but your space too, to match the season. Just as with koromogae, refreshing the scent and air of your room can also serve as a turning point for shifting your mindset.
Self-Check | Find Your Type of Discomfort
Headache and Heaviness Type
- Your head starts feeling heavy the day before rain or a typhoon
- On days with pressure changes, your shoulders and neck feel heavy too
- Painkillers often don't fully clear the headache
Dizziness and Light-Headed Type
- You get light-headed or feel unsteady around the time the weather turns
- You feel you're prone to motion sickness
- You sometimes notice a stuffy or blocked feeling in your ears
Low Mood Type
- Your mood sinks for no clear reason on low-pressure days
- You lack motivation and feel drowsier than usual
- Seeing a rain icon on the weather forecast alone makes you feel a little down
What to Do | Adjustments by Type
For the Headache and Heaviness Type: "Warm Around Your Ears"
Gently warming the area from behind your ears down your neck with a warm towel is said to promote blood flow and help ease stiffness.
For the Dizziness and Light-Headed Type: "Ventilate and Reset Your Posture"
If the indoor air feels stagnant, start by opening a window to refresh it. Staying in the same posture for long stretches also adds strain, so build in time to move your body regularly.
For the Low Mood Type: "Shift Your Mindset With Scent"
For a low mood with no clear cause, it can be easier to shift your mindset with something like scent rather than forcing yourself to hunt for the reason. Having a small ritual, like koromogae, of "shifting my mindset starting today" helps.
Reset With Scent
No.17 Deep Reset is an easy fit for self-care aimed at settling an autonomic nervous system thrown off by pressure and weather changes. It's designed to sit not only with fatigue from digital devices, but with the load weather places on your autonomic nervous system too. Using this summer's No.17 Deep Reset bath salt to slowly reset yourself starting with a foot bath is also a good approach. See the bath salts
Summary
- The otolith organ in the inner ear is thought to be what detects changes in air pressure
- Pressure disruption makes the sympathetic nervous system more dominant, which can lead to headaches, dizziness, and low mood
- Japan's koromogae carries the wisdom of resetting both body and space at each change of season
- Choose care — warming, ventilation, or scent — to match your headache, dizziness, or mood type
Related articles:
Why Computer Work Leaves You So Tired | A Scent Habit to Settle Your Autonomic Nervous System
References: Medical findings on weather-related illness and weather pain (research by Professor Jun Sato of Aichi Medical University), general findings on the autonomic nervous system and stress response, and Japanese folk culture around koromogae.