You Know when you’re watching an action movie and the hero has a loud explosion nearby and their ears begin to ring? Well, guess what: that likely means our hero suffered at least a minor traumatic brain injury!
To be sure, brain injuries aren’t the bit that most action movies linger on. But that high-pitched ringing is something called tinnitus. Usually, hearing loss is the topic of a tinnitus conversation, but traumatic brain injuries can also trigger this condition.
After all, one of the most prevalent traumatic brain injuries is a concussion. And they can happen for many reasons (car crashes, sports accidents, and falls, for example). It can be somewhat complex sorting out how a concussion can lead to tinnitus. Fortunately, treating and managing your conditions is typically very attainable.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is brain trauma of a very distinct kind. One way to think about it is that your brain is protected by sitting snuggly in your skull. The brain will start to move around inside your skull when something shakes your head violently. But your brain could end up smashing into the inside of your skull because of the little amount of extra space in there.
This hurts your brain! Multiple sides of your skull can be impacted by your brain. And when this occurs, you experience a concussion. This example makes it quite clear that a concussion is literally damage to the brain. Symptoms of concussions include the following:
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Confusion and loss of memory
- Slurred speech
- Vomiting and nausea
- Headaches
- Dizziness and blurred vision
- Ringing in the ears
This list is not complete, but you get the idea. Symptoms from a concussion can continue anywhere between a few weeks and a few months. Brain injury from one concussion is generally not permanent, most individuals will end up making a complete recovery. However, repetitive or multiple concussions are a bigger problem (generally speaking, it’s a good idea to avoid these).
How do concussions cause tinnitus?
Can a concussion interfere with your hearing? Really?
The question of concussions and tinnitus is an interesting one. Because it’s more correct to say that traumatic brain injuries (even mild ones) can lead to tinnitus, It isn’t just concussions. That ringing in your ears can be triggered by even minor brain injuries. Here are a few ways that may happen:
- Damage to your hearing: Enduring an explosion at close range is the cause of concussions and TBIs for lots of members of the armed forces. Permanent hearing loss can be caused when the stereocilia in your ears are damaged by the tremendously noisy shock wave of an explosion. So it isn’t so much that the concussion brought about tinnitus, it’s that the tinnitus and concussion have the same root cause.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: The onset of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome can be caused by a TBI. This is a consequence of an accumulation of pressure within the inner ear. Substantial hearing loss and tinnitus can become a problem over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: When your TBI injures the inner ear this kind of concussion occurs. This damage can create inflammation and cause both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Nerve damage: A concussion may also trigger damage to the nerve that is in charge of transmitting the sounds you hear to your brain.
- Disruption of communication: In some instances, the part of your brain that controls hearing can become damaged by a concussion. As a result, the signals sent from the ear to your brain can’t be precisely digested and tinnitus can result.
- Disruption of the Ossicular Chain: There are three tiny bones in your ear that help send sounds to your brain. These bones can be pushed out of place by a significant concussive, impactive event. Tinnitus can be caused by this and it can also disrupt your ability to hear.
Of course it’s significant to keep in mind that no two brain injuries are exactly the same. Every patient will get personalized care and instructions from us. Certainly, if you think you have experienced a traumatic brain injury or a concussion, you should call us for an evaluation as soon as possible.
How do you treat tinnitus from a concussion?
Typically, it will be a temporary situation if tinnitus is the result of a concussion. How long can tinnitus linger after a concussion? Weeks or months, unfortunately, could be the time period. However, if your tinnitus has lingered for more than a year, it’s likely to be irreversible. Over time, in these situations, treatment plans to manage your condition will be the optimal plan.
Here are some ways to accomplish this:
- Hearing aid: Sometimes, tinnitus becomes pronounced because the rest of the world goes into the background (as is the situation with non-TBI-caused hearing loss, everything else gets quieter, so your tinnitus sounds louder). A hearing aid can help turn the volume up on everything else, assuring that your tinnitus fades into the background.
- Therapy: Sometimes, patients can learn to ignore the sound by undertaking cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You disregard the sound after acknowledging it. It will take some therapy, practice, and time though.
- Masking device: This device goes in your ear a lot like a hearing aid, but it produces specific noises instead of amplifying things. This noise is custom tailored to your tinnitus, drowning out the sound so you can pay attention to voices, or other sounds you actually want to hear.
Obtaining the desired result will, in some situations, call for added therapies. Management of the root concussion may be necessary in order to make the tinnitus go away. The best course of action will depend on the nature of your concussion and your TBI. As a result, an accurate diagnosis is incredibly important in this regard.
Consult us about what the ideal treatment plan may look like for you.
TBI-caused tinnitus can be managed
Your life can be traumatically affected by a concussion. When you get concussed, it’s a bad day! And if you’ve been in a car accident and your ears are ringing, you may wonder why.
It may be days later or immediately after the accident that tinnitus symptoms surface. But you can successfully control tinnitus after an accident and that’s significant to keep in mind. Schedule a consultation with us today.
