Are you going mad with that tinnitus in your ears? Find out what causes tinnitus and whether you could have inherited it.
What is tinnitus?
A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no outside cause of the sound is a condition known as tinnitus. The direct translation of the word tinnitus is”ringing like a bell”.”
How will tinnitus affect my everyday living?
Tinnitus can disrupt personal connections in numerous aggravating ways. It isn’t a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other ailments or circumstances in your life like hearing loss or injury. Your ability to stay focused can be seriously disrupted when you start 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 enduring or it can come and go. Sustained exposure to loud sound, such as a rock concert, is usually the cause of temporary tinnitus. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with a few different medical conditions.
Here are several conditions that typically accompany tinnitus:
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the fragile hairs used to conduct sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
- Infection of the inner ear
- Meniere’s Disease
- Acoustic neuroma where a benign tumor grows on the cranial nerve running from the inner ear to the brain
- Excessive earwax accumulation
- The ear bone has undergone changes
- Various medications
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) caused by a TMJ disorder
- Injuries that impact nerves of the ear
- Head or neck injuries
- Anxiety or depression
- Hearing impairment related to aging
- Prolonged 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. For example, ear bone changes that can result in tinnitus can be passed down. These changes are a consequence of abnormal bone growth that can be handed down through family lines. Some of the other conditions that can cause ringing in the ear might be passed down from your parents, including:
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
- Specific diseases
- Being predisposed to depression or anxiety
The ringing in your ear isn’t directly inheritable, but you may have been genetically susceptible to the disorders that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If your family has a history of tinnitus, you should definitely come in for an assessment.