Spinal fluid, also called cerebrospinal fluid, surrounds your brain and spinal cord and helps protect them from getting injured. But if you get a tear in the outermost layer surrounding the brain and spinal cord, called the dura mater, it can lead to a spinal fluid leak or cerebrospinal fluid leak (CFS).
A spinal CFS leak can happen anywhere in the spinal column and usually causes a headache. A cranial CFS leak happens in the skull and usually causes clear fluid to leak from your nose or ear.
In some cases, the hole will close with rest and time. In other cases, you may need surgery to repair the hole and stop the leak.
A hole in the dura mater may be caused by an injury to the head or spine, certain surgeries, inner ear malformations, bone spurs, and more.