Are you going crazy with that tinnitus in your ears? Discover whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause may be.
What is tinnitus?
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 tinnitus affect my everyday living?
Tinnitus can interrupt personal connections in several aggravating ways. It’s not a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other conditions or conditions in your life like hearing loss or damage. You might hear tinnitus in one ear or both ears and it can hinder your ability to focus.
Tinnitus is always disruptive regardless of how it’s manifesting. Sleep loss, anxiety, and even depression can also be triggered by tinnitus symptoms.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be persistent or temporary. Short term types of tinnitus are typically triggered by extended exposure to loud noises, like a rock concert. Tinnitus has been documented to manifest with a few different medical conditions.
A few of the circumstances that could play host to tinnitus include:
- Infection of the inner ear
- Various medications
- Injuries to the neck or head
- Bruxism, generally referred to as teeth grinding caused by temporomandibular joint problems, or TMJ disorder
- Excessive earwax build-up
- Hearing loss related to aging
- Sustained exposure to loud sound
- The ear bone has changed
- Meniere’s Disease
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows on cranial nerve
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the sensitive hairs used to conduct sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Anxiety or depression
Could I have inherited this tinnitus from my parents?
Tinnitus isn’t directly inherited. However, your genetics can play a role in this symptom. You can, for instance, inherit a tendency for your ear bone to change. Irregular bone growth can cause these changes and can be passed down through genetics. A few of the other conditions that can lead to ringing in the ear might be inherited from your parents, including:
- Predisposition to anxiety or depression
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
- Certain diseases
The ringing in your ear is not directly inheritable, but you may have been genetically susceptible to the disorders that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If your family has a history of tinnitus, you should certainly come in for an evaluation.