You Know when you’re watching an action movie and the hero has a loud explosion close by and their ears begin to ring? Well, guess what: that most likely means our hero suffered at least a mild traumatic brain injury!
Naturally, action movies don’t highlight the brain injury part. But that ringing in our hero’s ears represents a condition called tinnitus. Normally, hearing loss is the subject of a tinnitus conversation, but traumatic brain injuries can also cause this condition.
Concussions, after all, are one of the more prevalent traumatic brain injuries that happen. And there are a number of reasons concussions can happen (for instance, falls, sports accidents, and motor vehicle crashes). It can be somewhat complicated sorting out how a concussion can trigger tinnitus. But the good news is that even if you suffer a brain injury that causes tinnitus, you can usually treat and manage your condition.
Concussions, exactly what are they?
A concussion is a particular form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Think about it like this: your brain is nestled fairly tightly inside your skull (your brain is large, and your skull is there to protect it). When something comes along and shakes the head violently enough, your brain starts moving around inside of your skull. But because there’s so little additional space in there, your brain could literally smash into the inside of your skull.
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. Here are some symptoms of a concussion:
- Blurry vision or dizziness
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Slurred speech
- Loss of memory and confusion
- Nausea and vomiting
- Headaches
- Ringing in the ears
Even though this list makes the point, it’s in no way complete. A few weeks to a few months is the normal duration of concussion symptoms. When somebody gets one concussion, they will typically make a complete recovery. However, repeated or multiple concussions are a bigger problem (generally, it’s the best idea to avoid these).
How is tinnitus triggered by a concussion?
Is it actually possible that a concussion could affect your hearing?
The matter of concussions and tinnitus is an interesting one. Not surprisingly, concussions aren’t the only brain traumas that can trigger tinnitus symptoms. That ringing in your ears can be activated by even mild brain injuries. Here are a few ways that could occur:
- Nerve damage: A concussion may also cause injury to the nerve that is in charge of transferring the sounds you hear to your brain.
- Interruption 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 substantial concussive, impactive event. This can interrupt your ability to hear and result in tinnitus.
- Disruption of communication: In some cases, the portion of your brain that manages hearing can become harmed by a concussion. Consequently, the messages sent from the ear to your brain can’t be precisely processed and tinnitus can be the outcome.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: This form of concussion happens when the inner ear is damaged due to your TBI. This damage can produce inflammation and cause both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Damage to your hearing: For members of the armed forces, TBIs and concussions are often a result of distance to an explosion. Irreversible hearing loss can be triggered when the stereocilia in your ears are damaged by the exceptionally noisy shock wave of an explosion. Tinnitus isn’t inevitably caused by a concussion, but they definitely do share some common causes.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: The onset of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome can be a consequence of a TBI. This is caused by an accumulation of pressure inside of the inner ear. Significant hearing loss and tinnitus can become an issue over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
It’s important to emphasize that every traumatic brain injury and concussion is a bit different. Every patient will get individualized care and instructions from us. Certainly, if you think you have suffered a traumatic brain injury or a concussion, you should call us for an evaluation right away.
When you get a concussion and tinnitus is the consequence, how can it be managed?
Most frequently, tinnitus triggered by a concussion or traumatic brain damage will be temporary. How long can tinnitus last after a concussion? Well, it might last weeks or possibly months. But, it’s likely that your tinnitus is long lasting if it lasts more than a year. In these cases, the treatment approach transitions to controlling your symptoms over the long term.
Here are some ways to achieve this:
- Therapy: Sometimes, patients can learn to disregard the sound by undertaking cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You ignore the sound after acknowledging it. This technique requires therapy and practice.
- Masking device: This device is a lot like a hearing aid, but instead of helping you hear things more loudly, it produces a particular noise in your ear. This noise is custom tailored to your tinnitus, drowning out the sound so you can focus on voices, or other sounds you really want to hear.
- Hearing aid: Sometimes, tinnitus becomes prominent because the rest of the world takes a back seat (as is the situation with non-TBI-caused hearing loss, everything else becomes quieter, so your tinnitus seems louder). Hearing aids help your tinnitus go into the background by turning up the volume on everything else.
In some situations, further therapies might be required to achieve the expected result. Management of the root concussion might be necessary in order to get rid of the tinnitus. The best course of action will depend on the status of your concussion and your TBI. This means an accurate diagnosis is extremely important in this regard.
Consult us about what the right treatment plan may look like for you.
You can manage tinnitus caused by a TBI
A concussion can be a substantial and traumatic situation in your life. It’s never a good day when you get concussed! 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 emerge. However, it’s important to remember that tinnitus after a head injury can be managed effectively. Schedule a consultation with us right away.
