Are you going crazy with that tinnitus in your ears? Learn whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause may be.
Tinnitus, what exactly is it?
A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no outside cause of the sound is a condition known as tinnitus. The word tinnitus translates to “ringing like a bell.”
How will my day-to-day living be impacted by tinnitus?
Tinnitus can interrupt personal connections in several frustrating ways. It’s usually a sign that you have damaged hearing or some underlying health condition and not a disease in and of itself. Your ability to stay focused can be seriously disrupted when you start to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Tinnitus is always disruptive regardless of how it’s manifesting. influence your sleep and even trigger anxiety and depression.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be persistent or temporary. Lengthy exposure to loud sound, such as a rock concert, is usually the cause of short-term tinnitus. Tinnitus has been documented to manifest with several different medical issues.
A few of the conditions that might play host to tinnitus include:
- Changes in the composition of the ear bone
- Buildup of excessive earwax
- Inner ear infections
- Hearing loss associated with aging
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, forms on cranial nerve
- Sustained exposure to loud sound
- Meniere’s Disease
- Injuries to the neck or head
- Depression or anxiety
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the fragile hairs used to transport sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Various medications
- Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) related to a TMJ disorder
Could I have inherited this tinnitus from my parents?
Generally, tinnitus isn’t an inherited condition. But the symptoms can be influenced by your genetics. For example, ear bone changes that can lead to tinnitus can be inherited. Abnormal bone growth can trigger these changes and can be handed down through family genes. Here are a few other conditions you might have inherited that can cause tinnitus:
- Certain diseases
- Being predisposed to depression or anxiety
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
You can’t directly inherit tinnitus, but there are disorders that become breeding grounds for tinnitus which you might have inherited.
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 evaluate your hearing.