Do you have ringing in your ears that’s driving you mad? Find out what causes tinnitus and whether you could have inherited it.
Tinnitus, what exactly is it?
Tinnitus is the name describing a person’s perception of a ringing, droning, or buzzing in the ear with no external stimulus present to explain this sensation. The direct translation of the term tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will my everyday living be affected by tinnitus?
Tinnitus can interrupt personal connections in several frustrating ways. It’s normally a sign that you have damaged hearing or some underlying health condition and not a disease in and of itself. You might hear tinnitus in one ear or both ears and it can hinder your ability to focus.
Regardless of the way in which you’re experiencing tinnitus, it’s always disruptive. Tinnitus can affect your sleep and even trigger anxiety and depression.
What are the causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be enduring or it can come and go. Sustained exposure to loud noise, such as a rock concert, is normally the cause of temporary tinnitus. There are a few medical conditions that tend to go hand-in-hand with tinnitus.
A few of the conditions that might play host to tinnitus include:
- Hearing loss associated with aging
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows on cranial nerve
- Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
- Exposure to loud noise for prolonged periods of time
- Numerous medications
- Anxiety or depression
- The ear bone has changed
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the sensitive hairs used to transport sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Infection of the inner ear
- Meniere’s Disease
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) triggered by a TMJ disorder
- Head or neck injuries
- Excessive earwax build-up
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 influenced by your genetics. For instance, ear bone changes that can result in tinnitus can be inherited. These changes are caused by irregular bone growth that can be handed down through family lines. A few of the other conditions that can cause ringing in the ear could be inherited from your parents, including:
- Predisposition to anxiety or depression
- Specific diseases
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
The ringing in your ear is not directly inheritable, but you may have been genetically predisposed to the conditions that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If your family has a history of tinnitus, you should certainly come in for an evaluation.
