Did I Inherit my Tinnitus?

Woman grimacing with hand on the left side of her head suffering from tinnitus

Do you have ringing in your ears that’s driving you crazy? Learn whether your tinnitus is inherited or what the cause may be.

What is tinnitus?

A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no outside cause of the noise is a condition called tinnitus. The word tinnitus translates to “ringing like a bell.”

How will tinnitus impact my everyday living?

Tinnitus can be aggravating and can interrupt intimate interactions. It isn’t a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other conditions or conditions in your life such as hearing loss or injury. You may hear tinnitus in one ear or both ears and it can impede your ability to concentrate.

Tinnitus is always troublesome regardless of how it’s manifesting. influence your sleep and even trigger anxiety and depression.

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus can be persistent or temporary. Sustained exposure to loud sound, such as a rock concert, is usually the cause of short-term tinnitus. Tinnitus has been documented to co-occur with several different medical conditions.

Here are a few situations that typically go along with tinnitus:

  • Age-related hearing impairment
  • Various medications
  • Excessive earwax build-up
  • Meniere’s Disease
  • Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
  • Inner ear infections
  • Teeth grinding (bruxism) triggered by a TMJ disorder
  • Depression or anxiety
  • A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows on cranial nerve
  • Exposure to loud noise for prolonged time periods
  • Head or neck traumas
  • Changes in the composition of the ear bone
  • Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the delicate hairs used to transport sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain

Is it possible that my parents may have passed down the ringing in my ears?

Tinnitus isn’t directly hereditary. But the symptoms can be affected by your genes. You can, as an example, inherit a tendency for your ear bone to change. These changes are caused by irregular bone growth that can be handed down through family lines. Here are a few other conditions you could have inherited that can result in tinnitus:

  • Being predisposed to depression or anxiety
  • Specific diseases
  • 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 your family has a history of tinnitus, you should certainly come in for an assessment.

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.