Are you experiencing ringing in your ears that’s driving you mad? Learn whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause may be.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the term describing a person’s perception of a ringing, droning, or buzzing in the ear with no external stimulus present to explain this experience. The direct translation of the term tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will my day-to-day living be affected by tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be aggravating and can disrupt intimate connections. It isn’t a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other ailments or conditions in your life including hearing loss or injury. Your concentration can be significantly interrupted when you start to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Regardless of the way in which you’re experiencing tinnitus, it is always disruptive. impact your sleep and even cause anxiety and depression.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be enduring or it can come and go. Lengthy exposure to loud sound, such as a rock concert, is typically the cause of temporary tinnitus. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with several different medical issues.
Here are several conditions that generally go along with tinnitus:
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the delicate hairs used to transport sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Hearing loss related to aging
- Inner ear infections
- Numerous medications
- Meniere’s Disease
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) triggered by a TMJ disorder
- Depression or anxiety
- The ear bone has undergone changes
- Excessive earwax build-up
- Exposure to loud sound for extended periods of time
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, forms on cranial nerve
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Head or neck traumas
Could I have inherited this ringing in my ears from my parents?
Generally, tinnitus isn’t a hereditary condition. But the symptoms can be influenced by your genetics. For instance, ear bone changes that can lead to tinnitus can be inherited. Irregular bone growth can cause these changes and can be passed down through family genes. A few of the other conditions that can cause ringing in the ear might be passed down from your parents, including:
- Specific diseases
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
- Predisposition to anxiety or depression
You can’t directly inherit tinnitus, but there are conditions that become breeding grounds for tinnitus which you may 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.
