Signs Of A Traumatic Brain Injury​

1. Major Signs Of
A Traumatic
Brain Injury
By Kim Anderson

2. • The brain controls everything about your
mental and physical well-being. When your
brain is injured, you could lose control over
any number of bodily functions and mental
capacity. If you or someone you know has
sustained a blow to the head, it's possible a
traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been
inflicted. Even blows that seem non-
damaging can cause irreparable harm. It's
vital for you to familiarize yourself with the
symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms
should seek medical assistance as soon as
possible.

3. Sensory Issues
• Sensory issues, such as blurred vision are common. When
an individual experiences sensory issues, they are not
interpreting the world around them in the correct way. A
person with sensory problems might have trouble
understanding touch, temperature, and limb position. One
of the most common tests for this is for an individual to try
to touch their nose with their fingertip. Another key
sensory issue and sign of a traumatic brain injury is blurred
vision. It's common for individuals to experience a partial
or even complete loss of vision. Blurred vision is often
caused by the weakening of the eye muscles, which causes
double vision. Individuals might experience problems with
their depth perception, difficulty judging distance, or
involuntary eye movements when dealing with this
traumatic brain injury symptom. The final vision-related
symptom is an intolerance to light. Light will be extremely
painful to these patients, to the point they cannot cope
with it at all.

4. Tinnitus Issues
• It's common to experience hearing issues when
suffering from a traumatic brain injury as well. Tinnitus
is a constant ringing sound in the ears, and along with
the ringing, it's common for individuals to experience a
decrease in their hearing or to lose their hearing
altogether. Frequently, they don't realize they are losing
their hearing and simply believe the ringing is drowning
out all other sounds. When an individual suffers a
traumatic brain injury, it's also common for them to
have increased sensitivity to noise. They might not be
able to tolerate sounds they never had a problem with
in the past.
• Tinnitus is often associated with loud noises.
Individuals involved in explosions or returning from
concerts report ringing in the ears. But if the ringing is
not related to a loud sound, and the ringing began after
a head injury, it could be a serious sign an individual
has suffered a traumatic brain injury.

5. Bad Taste In
The Mouth
• Some individuals with a traumatic brain
injury have a diminished sense of taste, or they
lose their ability to taste food altogether. All of
these sensory-related symptoms might occur in
conjunction with each other as well. Patients
might lose their hearing and taste, or their
sight and hearing. If an individual experiencing
problems with multiple base senses at one
time, this is a sign they have suffered a
particularly severe traumatic brain injury and
need medical intervention as soon as possible.
Another potential symptom is a bad taste in the
mouth. In particular, if foods are not tasting
the way they usually do, or if an individual
feels their sense of taste is 'off,' it is important
to consult a medical professional.

6. Loss Of
Consciousness
• If an individual loses consciousness, this is a sign they
have suffered a major TBI. Traumatic brain injuries
have a range, from mild trauma to severe injuries. If an
individual loses consciousness for between twenty
minutes and six hours, their traumatic brain injury will
be classified as a moderate brain injury. If an individual
loses consciousness for longer than six hours and has a
score on the Glasgow Coma Scale between three and
eight, they have suffered a severe brain injury. If they
lose consciousness for less than twenty minutes, they
may have suffered a mild injury. It's important to note,
however, any loss of consciousness following head
trauma is a sign medical intervention must be
performed immediately. If an individual doesn't regain
consciousness within a few seconds, their life could be
in danger.

7. Speech Problems
• Traumatic brain injuries often cause speech problems.
Individuals might have difficulty understanding the words
being spoken to them, a condition called receptive
aphasia. Patients might also have difficulty expressing
themselves and being understood by others, called
expressive aphasia. They might experience slurred speech.
It's also possible they will speak very slowly, with long
pauses between words. Alternatively, they might speak
much more quickly than they usually do. Any of these
symptoms is a sign an individual has suffered a cognitive
impairment following a head injury. In the recovery
process after a traumatic brain injury, individuals may
continue to have trouble with speech, along with reading
and writing, as these are controlled by the same language
center in the brain.

8. Nausea Or Vomiting
• Nausea or vomiting is most often associated
with mild traumatic brain injuries, but it can be
a sign of a more moderate or severe injury as
well. Mild traumatic brain injuries, also called
concussions, are the most prevalent. Even
though they are very common, they should still
be taken seriously. Individuals often miss them
after the immediate injury. If someone has a
head injury and subsequently begins to vomit or
feel nauseous, they should be evaluated for a
concussion. It's possible the onset of symptoms
will not occur immediately following the injury,
but rather take several days or even weeks for
nausea to manifest. For this reason, they should
pay attention to all physical symptoms for
several weeks.

9. Headaches

10. Fatigue Or Drowsiness
• Generally speaking, patients who
experience fatigue, drowsiness, or
are more sleepy than usual after
suffering a traumatic brain injury,
and this type of fatigue is described
as a sense of mental or physical
tiredness, exhaustion, a lack of
energy, and low vitality. Physical and
cognitive fatigue can occur
separately or together, however,
most patients tend to experience the
mental side of fatigue after a
traumatic brain injury.

11. • Many patients notice they are not as
mentally sharp and focused as they used to
be, as once easy mental tasks tend to be
more difficult to complete, and often leave
patients feeling far more drowsy and tired
than before. These mental tasks can include
reading, working, or studying. Fortunately,
fatigue is usually a temporary symptom with
most mild cases of TBI and will last no
longer than three to six months.
Approximately ten percent of individuals
who experience a brain injury deal with
fatigue and drowsiness, and is one of the
most common issues post-injury.

12. Difficulty
Sleeping
• On the flip side of the coin, besides dealing
with constant fatigue, many patients can
develop sleeping disorders as a result of a
traumatic brain injury. As one of the most
common issues patients face after a traumatic
brain injury, as sleeping disorders are three
times more common in individuals with a
brain injury compared to the general
population. Unfortunately, studies also reveal
sixty percent of patients with a traumatic
brain injury experience long-term difficulties
with sleep, with women being more likely to
be affected than men. The most
common sleep disorders include insomnia,
excessive daytime sleepiness, delayed sleep
phase syndrome, and narcolepsy. Sleep
syndromes that can also occur associated
with a traumatic brain injury include restless
leg syndrome, bruxism, sleep apnea, periodic
limb movement disorder, and sleepwalking.

13. Dizziness Or
Loss Of Balance
• Approximately thirty to sixty-five percent of
individuals report experiencing dizziness or
disequilibrium, or a lack of balance while sitting
or standing, after suffering a traumatic brain
injury. Symptoms of dizziness include
lightheadedness, vertigo, and imbalance. The
severity of the loss of balance or dizziness a
patient experiences largely depends on how
serious the brain injury is, what part of the brain
is affected, and other injuries, such as fractures
or a spinal injury. Certain medications used to
treat a traumatic brain injury can also cause side
effects, including dizziness and a lack of balance.
Other causes of balance problems associated with
a traumatic brain injury include postural
hypotension or a drop in blood pressure, vision
impairments, and inner ear problems.

14. Memory Or
Concentration
Problems
• After a traumatic brain injury, it is common for
individuals to have certain problems associated
with learning, memory, attention, concentration,
speech and language, reasoning, planning, and
problem-solving. Unfortunately, patients with a
TBI may have difficulties focusing, paying
attention, or multitasking, which can result in
restlessness and becoming easily distracted.
Furthermore, individuals with a traumatic brain
injury may have difficulty learning and
remembering new information and events, or may
even have a hard time remembering things that
occurred weeks or months before the injury. As a
result of a lack of memory, the brain will try to fill
in the gaps of the missing information and recall
things that actually did not occur, resulting in
false memories.

15. Mood Swings
• Some patients with a traumatic brain injury may
have issues trying to control their emotions and
may experience emotions very quickly and
intensely, which are often temporary, resulting in
a ‘mood swing.' An individual can also be
happy one moment, then angry or sad the next
moment, which is called emotional lability.
Emotional lability is often caused by damage to
the part of the brain that controls emotions and
behavior, and often there are no specific events
that can trigger these mood swings. In some
cases, the brain injury can cause sudden
emotional responses, such as crying or laughing,
and may not relate to how the patient is truly
feeling or match the situation they are dealing
with, but rather they cannot control these
emotional outbursts.

16. Depression Or
Anxiety
• One of the most difficult issues a
traumatic brain injury can cause is
depression or anxiety, and it can be
quite common years later for an
individual to still be experiencing
one or both. Recent studies have
discovered more than sixty percent
of patients who have experienced a
traumatic brain injury had
psychiatric disorders, such as
depression or anxiety, up to five and
a half years after their initial injury.
As a result of these recent findings,
many medical professionals
recommend that patients with a TBI
should be screened for psychiatric
disorders multiple times post-injury,
so proper treatment and therapies
can be administered as soon as
possible.

17. • Unfortunately, experiencing stress, anxiety,
and depression following a brain injury is
relatively normal, as it is a life-changing
event, and unfortunately, stress and anxiety
can not only lead to depression but also
restlessness, sleeplessness, difficulty
concentrating and completing tasks, as well
as social issues. Anxiety and depression can
cause symptoms such as mood swings,
hopelessness and sadness, shortness of
breath, and feelings of panic and despair.