Do you have ringing in your ears that’s driving you crazy? Discover whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause might be.
What is tinnitus?
A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no external 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 everyday living?
Tinnitus can be aggravating and can interrupt intimate interactions. It’s normally an indication that you have damaged hearing or some root health condition and not a disease in and of itself. Your concentration can be seriously disrupted when you begin to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Regardless of the way in which you’re experiencing tinnitus, it’s always bothersome. Sleep loss, anxiety, and even depression can also be caused by tinnitus symptoms.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be long lasting or it can come and go. Short term types of tinnitus are usually brought on by extended exposure to loud sounds, such as a rock concert. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with several different medical issues.
A few of the circumstances that may play host to tinnitus include:
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the delicate hairs used to conduct sound, causing arbitrary transmissions of sound to your brain
- Acoustic neuroma where a benign tumor forms on the cranial nerve going from the inner ear to the brain
- Hearing loss related to aging
- Meniere’s Disease
- Bruxism, more commonly known as teeth grinding stemming from temporomandibular joint issues, or TMJ disorder
- Excessive earwax accumulation
- The ear bone has changed
- Various medications
- Anxiety or depression
- Head or neck traumas
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Infection of the inner ear
- Extended exposure to loud sound
Is it possible that my parents may have passed down the ringing in my ears?
Tinnitus isn’t directly hereditary. However, your genetics can play a role in this condition. You can, for instance, inherit a tendency for your ear bone to change. Abnormal bone growth can cause these changes and can be handed down through genetics. A few of the other conditions that can cause ringing in the ear may be passed down from your parents, including:
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
- Being predisposed to depression or anxiety
- Certain diseases
The ringing in your ear is not directly inheritable, but you might have been genetically susceptible to the conditions that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If your family has a history of tinnitus, you should certainly come in for an assessment.
