Tinnitus Since 1995, Could It Be Inherited?

So happy to have found this blog! I'm 76 (female) and have had Tinnitus for a very long time.

I'm wondering if anyone else can attribute the miserable condition to heredity? My father had it badly and my brother and sister have it. I have not seen anything like this mentioned.

I noticed the mention of Prednisone as a possible treatment and I want to mention that I have been on Prednisone starting at 60 mg in July of 2016. I am now down to 4mg and will be off of it in November. The reason for it is/was Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis. If anything, the steroid made my Tinnitus much worse and the side effects of Prednisone makes it something you just don't want to start taking unless it's absolutely necessary.

I've heard crickets and cicadas so loud and real in the winter that I had to stand at the window to hear if it was coming from outside (unlikely in NY). I hear sleet and rain when the sun is out. I've had different sounds in each year, I've heard door bell chimes for a short while and now the hissing is VERY loud and clearly in my head (no longer different sounds from each ear).

I'm desperate, as we all are, for something, anything that might help and will eagerly participate in this blog.

 

Welcome @Vivienne .

I am not an expert in tinnitus (or anything for that matter), but there was study from around 2010 in Norway that claims to have proven that tinnitus is not inherited ( http://www.hear-it.org/tinnitus-is-not-hereditary ).

If you have not found them yet, @Michael Leigh has a number of very helpful posts.


https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-mental-health.21978/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

I would recommend reading these and anything else he has written.

I certainly understand how you are feeling. Fortunately "you came to the right place". Poke around the forum, you will find may answers, inspirational posts (seek out @Bobbie7 and @billie48 ), and a number of "success stories" from people who have managed to beat their tinnitus in one way or another.

I stumbled across the following thread last night ( https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/ ) . It describes a fairly unique potential solution that may work for some people.

I wish you the best, and I hope you find what you need here.

 

Thank you for responding so quickly. That is so interesting and unexpected that they didn't find that Tinnitus is inherited. I was always so sure that it was "all my Dad's fault!"

 

It's usually safe to blame your parents.

 

That's what we need to keep, a sense of humor. I'm new on this blog but have read such horror stories that it makes me think that I'm getting off easy. If it get worse; however, at least I'm in good very supportive company. Thanks for your help.