Syphilis
When a person has syphilis, the infection can spread to the inner ear. This leads to a condition called neurosyphilis, which can affect your balance and cause you to have dizzy spells. The infection is caused by a bacterium called Treponema pallidum. It’s very contagious and can spread through sexual contact with an infected person. If you contract syphilis, it will go through three stages—primary, secondary, and tertiary. In the primary stage, you may experience painless open sores where the bacteria enter your body, as well as fever, muscle aches, and sore throat.
While the primary stage is not dangerous on its own, if you don’t get proper treatment during this stage, you can develop secondary syphilis, in which open sores spread all over your body. As a result, you may suffer from skin rashes along with fever and weight loss. In tertiary syphilis, you could end up with neurological problems like peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage), muscle weakness, numbness or tingling around your mouth or hands, difficulty speaking or swallowing, vision problems, heart problems, or even dementia.
