You know that scene in your favorite action movie where something blows up near the hero and the sound goes all high-pitched-buzzing? Well, at least some degree of minor brain trauma has likely happened to them.
Naturally, action movies don’t highlight the brain injury part. But that high-pitched ringing is something called tinnitus. Normally, hearing loss is the topic of a tinnitus conversation, but traumatic brain injuries can also cause this condition.
Concussions, after all, are one of the more common traumatic brain injuries that happen. And there are a number of reasons concussions can happen (for example, falls, sporting accidents, and motor vehicle crashes). It can be a bit complex sorting out how a concussion can lead to tinnitus. But the good news is that even if you suffer a brain injury that triggers tinnitus, you can normally treat and manage your condition.
Concussions, exactly what are they?
A concussion is brain trauma of a very distinct type. One way to think about it is that your brain is protected by fitting tightly in your skull. When anything comes along and shakes the head violently enough, your brain begins moving around inside of your skull. But because there’s so little extra space in there, your brain may literally smash into the inside of your skull.
This hurts your brain! Multiple sides of your skull can be hit by your brain. And this is what brings about a concussion. This example makes it quite evident that a concussion is literally damage to the brain. Symptoms of concussions include the following:
- Headaches
- Ringing in the ears
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Slurred speech
- Blurry vision or dizziness
- Confusion and loss of memory
- Vomiting and nausea
Even though this list makes the point, it’s in no way complete. Symptoms from a concussion can persist anywhere between a few weeks and several months. Brain injury from a single concussion is typically not permanent, most individuals will end up making a total recovery. But, repeated or multiple concussions are a different story (generally speaking, it’s the best idea to avoid these).
How do concussions trigger tinnitus?
Is it actually feasible that a concussion may impact your hearing?
It’s an intriguing question: what is the connection between tinnitus and concussions? Not surprisingly, concussions won’t be the only brain traumas that can cause tinnitus symptoms. That ringing in your ears can be activated by even minor brain injuries. Here are a couple of ways that might take place:
- Disruption of communication: Concussion can, in some instances, harm the parts of the brain that control hearing. Consequently, the messages sent from the ear to your brain can’t be correctly digested and tinnitus can be the outcome.
- Nerve damage: There’s also a nerve that is in charge of sending sounds you hear to your brain, which a concussion can damage.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: The onset of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome can be caused by a TBI. When pressure accumulates in the inner ear this condition can occur. Significant hearing loss and tinnitus can become a problem over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
- Damage to your hearing: For members of the military, TBIs and concussions are frequently a result of proximity to an explosion. And explosions are very loud, the sound and the shock wave can harm the stereocilia in your ear, triggering hearing loss and tinnitus. So it isn’t so much that the concussion brought about tinnitus, it’s that the tinnitus and concussion have a common underlying cause.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: This type of concussion takes place when the inner ear is injured due to your TBI. This damage can produce inflammation and cause both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Disruption of the Ossicular Chain: There are three tiny bones in your ear that help send sounds to your brain. These bones can be knocked out of place by a substantial concussive, impactive event. This can disrupt your ability to hear and result in tinnitus.
It’s significant to stress that every traumatic brain injury and concussion is a bit different. Personalized care and instructions, from us, will be given to every patient. Indeed, if you think you have experienced a traumatic brain injury or a concussion, you should call us for an assessment as soon as possible.
How do you manage tinnitus from a concussion?
Most frequently, tinnitus caused by a concussion or traumatic brain injury will be temporary. After a concussion, how long can I anticipate my tinnitus to last? Weeks or possibly months, sadly, could be the time frame. But, it’s likely that your tinnitus is irreversible if it persists for more than a year. In these situations, the treatment plan changes to managing your symptoms over the long run.
This can be achieved by:
- Therapy: In some situations, therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be used to help patients ignore the noise produced by their tinnitus. You disregard the sound after acknowledging it. This technique requires therapy and practice.
- Hearing aid: In a similar way to when you’re dealing with hearing loss not triggered by a TBI, tinnitus symptoms seem louder because everything else is quieter. Hearing aids help your tinnitus go into the background by turning the volume up on everything else.
- Masking device: This device is similar to a hearing aid, but instead of helping you hear things more loudly, it produces a particular noise in your ear. Your distinct tinnitus symptoms determine what sound the device will produce helping you disregard the tinnitus sounds and be better able to focus on voices and other outside sounds.
Obtaining the expected result will, in some cases, call for added therapies. Getting rid of the tinnitus will often require treatment to the underlying concussion. Depending on the nature of your concussion, there could be a number of possible courses of action. As a result, an accurate diagnosis is extremely important in this regard.
Discover what the best plan of treatment might be for you by giving us a call.
TBI-caused tinnitus can be managed
A concussion can be a substantial and traumatic situation in your life. When you get a concussion, it’s a bad day! And if you have ringing in your ears, you might ask yourself, why do I have ringing in my ears after a car crash?
Tinnitus may surface instantly or in the following days. But you can successfully manage tinnitus after an accident and that’s important to keep in mind. Give us a call today to make an appointment.