Are you experiencing ringing in your ears that’s driving you crazy? Discover 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 known as tinnitus. The direct translation of the term tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will tinnitus impact my day to day living?
Tinnitus can disrupt personal connections in many aggravating ways. It’s not a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other conditions or circumstances in your life such as hearing loss or injury. You might hear tinnitus in one ear or both ears and it can impede your ability to concentrate.
Regardless of the way in which you’re experiencing tinnitus, it’s always disruptive. 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 usually triggered by extended exposure to loud noises, such as a rock concert. Tinnitus has been documented to manifest with several different medical conditions.
A few of the conditions that could play host to tinnitus include:
- Hearing loss associated with aging
- Different medications
- Meniere’s Disease
- Anxiety or depression
- Trauma to the neck or head
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) caused by a TMJ disorder
- Prolonged exposure to loud sound
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Changes in the composition of the ear bone
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the sensitive hairs used to conduct sound, causing arbitrary transmissions of sound to your brain
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, forms on cranial nerve
- Infection of the inner ear
- Accumulation of excessive earwax
Is it possible that my parents may have passed down the ringing in my ears?
In general, tinnitus isn’t an inherited condition. But the symptoms can be affected by your genes. You can, as an example, inherit a tendency for your ear bone to change. These changes are a consequence of irregular bone growth that can be passed down through family lines. Some of the other conditions that can produce ringing in the ear might be inherited from your parents, including:
- 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 conditions 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 make an appointment with us so we can assess your hearing.
