Ear Ringing and Lightheadedness During the Clean

[Xuan Mai Ho]

Both Wednesday and Friday, towards the end of my workout, as I was coming out of the bottom of my clean, I experienced ear ringing and extreme lightheadedness. Upon standing with the bar racked, the room faded to black for a couple of seconds (ringing in my ears). A second later, the room faded back in.

On both occasions, I ended my workout immediately. Any ideas on what may be happening?

(As far as I know, I have a clean bill of health.)

[Mike ODonnell]

sounds like high or low blood pressure issues.

[Garrett Smith]

See your healthcare practitioner for an eval. Stop cleaning until then.

[Greg Everett]

I'd be willing to bet you're just getting some pressure on your carotids with a little hypertension to boot. Shrug your shoulders up slightly in the rack position and flatten your c-spine to pull your throat back from the bar slightly. Also, as you're recovering (particularly through the sticking point of the squat), release some air (listen to Aimee and Natalie in this video).

[Marcus Holden]

I'm relatively new to olympic lifting, but have performed the front squat for years. This is definitely something that has happened to me from time to time. I find that I hold my breath naturally during the front squat; it really helps me exert force and, most importantly, supports my spine. I fixed this and now continue to contract my stomach muscles, but rather than just holding my breath, I breathe out slowly and forcefully. When I revert to my old ways and hold my breath, I sometimes feel lightheaded (and see the lights dim) when I finish a rep. So, make sure you're not holding your breath. Even when it happens, though, it goes away after a second or two. I've never passed out or come close to it. If your problem is more serious and doesn't go away as quickly, you might want to see a physician.

[Xuan Mai Ho]

Spent some time yesterday doing some heavy cleans. Followed Greg's suggestions and everything went swimmingly.

Thanks!

[Garrett Smith]

Nice. When I saw Greg's suggestion, I thought it would either work great (like it did) or not at all, based upon the actual cause. Glad to see that everything went well.

The ear ringing is what concerned me off the bat.