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Are Sinuses Vestigial? I Asked Doctor Mike.

Joe Scott | September 23, 2026



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Chances are, at some point in your life, you’ve had sinus trouble. It’s a very common experience. But have you ever stopped to wonder why we have them in the first place? What is the point of these weird mucus-filled air pockets in your head? Turns out… it’s kind-of up for debate. Today we talk about sinuses with the one and only Doctor Mike!

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LINKS LINKS LINKS
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livescience.com%2F26929-mama-first-ancestor-placental-mammals.html&ved=0CBYQjRxqGAoTCLCep-T6v5UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABC2AQ&opi=89978449
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_vestigiality
https://www.promegaconnections.com/useful-or-useless-weird-things-packed-in-our-evolutionary-suitcase/
https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/comments/1e8b245/chest_hair/
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/sinus
https://entspecialistsingapore.com/paranasal-sinuses/
https://facialtraumamd.com/sinus-fracture/
https://eyewiki.org/Intranasal_and_Sinus_Anatomy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QivuvBHZZco
https://www.britannica.com/video/respiratory-tract-lungs-mouth-air-nose-gases/-68484
https://www.socalsinus.com/why-sinus-pain-and-facial-pressure-often-point-to-blocked-drainage-pathways/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3199822/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/63279/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/905719/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/608239
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00039.2014
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1569904808001262
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-treatments/n/nasal-surgery/types/turbinate-reduction.html
https://www.rhinologyjournal.com/Rhinology_issues/782.pdf
https://entokey.com/physiology-of-the-paranasal-sinuses/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0021929070900278?via%3Dihub
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26335790_The_Paranasal_Sinuses_as_a_Protective_Crumple_Zone_for_the_Orbit
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2015/848079
https://engineering.washu.edu/news/2020/What-a-lifetime-of-playing-football-can-do-to-the-human-brain.html
https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/health-and-wellness/injury-data/2025-season-key-takeaways
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4565008/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C699AGigreY&t=130s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C699AGigreY
https://www.nycendodontist.com/blog/the-relationship-between-your-sinuses-and-your-teeth
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4241618/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21906886/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397785697_Thermoregulatory_Function_of_Paranasal_Sinuses_Integrating_Computational_Cadaveric_and_Comparative_Evidence
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43163-020-00011-7
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10013266/
https://www.ovid.com/journals/johans/abstract/10.2310/7070.2010.100110~drainage-of-the-maxillary-sinus-a-comparative-anatomy-study?redirectionsource=fulltextview
https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599812461892
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nih-research-reveals-how-brain-sinuses-aid-nvg9e
https://teachmeanatomy.info/neuroanatomy/vessels/dural-venous-sinuses/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_sinus
https://dino.courtney-brown.net/dinosaur-trio-sax/
https://dino.courtney-brown.net/video/
https://www.sciencealert.com/award-winning-art-project-recreates-dinosaur-sounds-with-bizarre-instruments
https://www.youtube.com/@DoctorDevify/shorts
https://www.youtube.com/@fauquierent
https://www.youtube.com/@VikVeerENTSurgeon

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
1:37 – Vestigial Organs
3:13 – Bringing In Doctor Mike
4:48 – How Sinuses Work
5:25 – Rating Sinus Theories
18:29 – Sponsor – Manta Sleep

Written by Joe Scott

Comments

This post currently has 37 comments.

  1. @bln8285

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    FYI re: hearing the muscle that moves in your ear, i think what you're hearing is your tensor veli palatini, not any of your auricular muscles. people who can still use their auricular muscles can move their outer ears, but you are moving a middle ear muscle around your Eustachian tube, that's what you're hearing. not trying to be pedantic, i just happen to be a research assistant for an ENT and i thought you would be interested :'). PS: tensor veli palatini is most certainly not vestigial, it's very important!

  2. @victoriaeads6126

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    You want my sinus horror story?
    I was living in Russia. I had been there for months when I got a sinus infection. I ended up going to a hospital, but I was pretty terrified and didn't want to be admitted. They did some procedures… Including one that involved a very large syringe of antibiotic fluid and process that included me NEVER EVER being able to forget the Russian word for "crunch." Them I convalesced back at my living space at the time. Fun fact, though, my health care was entirely covered because I was employed. Not a single bill.

    I did not tell my parents about this until they could see me and know I was still actually alive.

  3. @LabRat8899

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    During my senior year of college, I had a sinus infection for an entire YEAR. Somehow, my sinus tissues were very swollen, and even though I’d take the antibiotics and steroids the tissues would swell back up and get infected again. Went to see an ENT, and he did a CT scan and discovered that 70-90% of my sinuses were blocked. I ended up having sinus surgery right after I graduated so that excess tissue could be trimmed down. You know it was bad when my doctor told me at my post op appointment he could finally see the back of my nose.
    Also during that CT scan, we discovered I was born without my frontal sinuses.

  4. @Pippastinak

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    2:04 That’s not vestigial!!! At least not to me.
    I dont’t know if people just haven’t noticed, or it doesn’t work for them, but when I’m making that sound it opens up to the inner ear and help me equalize the pressure in my ears.

    Try it the next time you’re flying! Takes a fraction of a second and your don’t have to blow up your cheeks and hold your nose, when yourhave control og that muscle and is able to do it effortlessly.

  5. @brian63miata

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    Thought 1: Repository for nasal microbiome.
    Thought 2: Adaptability to changing barometric pressure, potentially protecting our brain from dramatic pressure changes during violent storms.

  6. @milowadlin

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    Doctors are not the ones to talk to about sinuses. Talk to an archeologist. That is the main way to tell cold blooded animals from warm blooded animals. It has to do with retaining moisture. Not that I know anything.

  7. @jjfuhrman

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    Just because it's not necessary for life, doesn't mean it's vestigial. Remove your eyes and let me know what you think. If you need your appendix removed, you weren't active or eat well enough. Sinuses are super important. Imagine your head twice as heavy and your inhalation dry. It will damage your throat and increase chances of respiratory infection.

  8. @timyak3079

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    Vesta what? Sounds like a Catholic thing and I quit that guilt years ago. We owe you Joe so we will spend (like our time is priceless) the 21 minutes yet we trust that you won’t make a habit of it. Now yer talking sinuses . . . 🤦🏼‍♂️ Joe Joe Joe, Joe Joe Joe Joe . . . Now you are counting sinuses. 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏾‍♀️😢

  9. @Chrismas815

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    1:57 as far as i understand it, our jaws haven't had to be as robust as we've gotten better at processing foods before we start eating, causing our jaws to have less pressure to grow, leading to less room for wisdom teeth

  10. @rogermiller2159

    September 23, 2026 at 12:07 am

    Musicians that play wind instruments can sometimes use a technique called circular breathing which means you don’t have to stop playing to get another breath. If you take away our sinuses it will have an impact on jazz, so Boo on banning sinuses.

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