Are you going mad with that tinnitus in your ears? Learn whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause might be.
Tinnitus, what exactly is it?
A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no outside cause of the sound is a condition called tinnitus. The word tinnitus translates to “ringing like a bell.”
How will my day-to-day living be impacted by tinnitus?
Tinnitus can disrupt personal connections in numerous frustrating ways. It’s usually a sign that you have damaged hearing or some root health condition and not a disease in and of itself. Your ability to stay focused can be seriously interrupted when you begin to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Tinnitus is always troublesome regardless of how it’s manifesting. Sleep loss, anxiety, and even depression can also be caused by tinnitus symptoms.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be persistent or temporary. Short term types of tinnitus are usually triggered by prolonged exposure to loud noises, like a rock concert. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with several different medical conditions.
A few of the conditions that might play host to tinnitus include:
- Numerous medications
- Sustained exposure to loud noise
- Acoustic neuroma where a benign tumor grows on the cranial nerve going from the brain to the inner ear
- Trauma to the neck or head
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the sensitive hairs used to conduct sound, causing arbitrary transmissions of sound to your brain
- Bruxism, generally known as teeth grinding caused by temporomandibular joint problems, or TMJ disorder
- Buildup of excessive earwax
- Changes in the composition of the ear bone
- Anxiety or depression
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Infection of the inner ear
- Hearing impairment associated with aging
- Meniere’s Disease
Could I have inherited this tinnitus from my parents?
Tinnitus isn’t directly inherited. But the symptoms can be affected by your genetics. For example, ear bone changes that can result in tinnitus can be passed down. These changes are a consequence of abnormal bone growth that can be handed down through family lines. A few of the other conditions that can cause ringing in the ear might be passed down from your parents, including:
- Specific diseases
- Predisposition to anxiety or depression
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
The ringing in your ear isn’t directly inheritable, but you may have been genetically susceptible to the disorders that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If you have a history of tinnitus in your family, it’s truly in your best interest to schedule an appointment with us so we can assess your hearing.