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 name referring to a person’s perception of a ringing, droning, or buzzing in the ear with no external noises present to explain this sensation. The direct translation of the term tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will tinnitus impact my daily living?
Tinnitus can be annoying and can disrupt intimate connections. It’s not a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other conditions or circumstances in your life including hearing loss or injury. Your ability to stay focused can be seriously interrupted when you begin to hear tinnitus in one or both ears.
Tinnitus is always disruptive regardless of how it’s manifesting. Sleep loss, anxiety, and even depression can also be caused by tinnitus symptoms.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be long lasting or it can come and go. Lengthy exposure to loud noise, such as a rock concert, is typically the cause of short-term tinnitus. Tinnitus has been known to co-occur with a few different medical conditions.
Here are a few situations that generally go along with tinnitus:
- Inner ear infections
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the fragile hairs used to transport sound, causing arbitrary transmissions of sound to your brain
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows on cranial nerve
- Accumulation of excessive earwax
- Depression or anxiety
- Hearing impairment related to aging
- Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
- Prolonged exposure to loud sound
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) caused by a TMJ disorder
- Meniere’s Disease
- Different medications
- Head or neck traumas
- Changes in the structure of the ear bone
Could I have inherited this tinnitus from my parents?
Tinnitus isn’t directly inherited. However, your genes can play a role in this condition. 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 result in ringing in the ear might be inherited from your parents, including:
- Predisposition to anxiety or depression
- Specific diseases
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
You can’t directly inherit tinnitus, but there are disorders that become breeding grounds for tinnitus which you may have inherited.
If your family has a history of tinnitus, you should definitely come in for an evaluation.
