Are you going crazy with that tinnitus in your ears? Find out what causes tinnitus and whether you could have inherited it.
Tinnitus, what exactly is it?
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 word tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will tinnitus impact my daily living?
Tinnitus can disrupt personal connections in numerous aggravating ways. It’s normally 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 significantly disrupted when you begin to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Tinnitus is always troublesome regardless of how it’s manifesting. influence your sleep and even cause anxiety and depression.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be constant or temporary. Sustained exposure to loud noise, like a rock concert, is typically the cause of temporary tinnitus. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with a few different medical conditions.
Here are several situations that generally accompany tinnitus:
- Several medications
- Infection of the inner ear
- Prolonged exposure to loud noise
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) caused by a TMJ disorder
- Meniere’s Disease
- The ear bone has changed
- Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
- Accumulation of excessive earwax
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the sensitive hairs used to conduct sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Head or neck injuries
- Acoustic neuroma where a benign tumor grows on the cranial nerve going from the inner ear to the brain
- Depression or anxiety
- Hearing loss related to aging
Could I have inherited this ringing in my ears from my parents?
In general, tinnitus isn’t a hereditary condition. However, your genes can play a role in this symptom. For instance, ear bone changes that can result in tinnitus can be passed down. These changes are related to abnormal bone growth that can be handed down through family lines. Here are a few other conditions you could have inherited that can trigger 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 conditions that become breeding grounds for tinnitus which you may have inherited.
If you have a history of tinnitus in your family, it’s really in your best interest to make an appointment with us so we can evaluate your hearing.