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 likely means our hero sustained at least a minor traumatic brain injury!
To be sure, brain injuries aren’t the part that most action movies linger on. But that ringing in our hero’s ears represents a condition called tinnitus. Usually, hearing loss is the subject of a tinnitus conversation, but traumatic brain injuries can also trigger this condition.
After all, one of the most common traumatic brain injuries is a concussion. And they can occur for many reasons (car accidents, sports accidents, and falls, for instance). It can be a bit complex sorting out how a concussion can cause tinnitus. But the good news is that even if you sustain 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 particular kind. Think about it like this: your brain is situated pretty tightly into your skull (your brain is large, and your skull is there to protect it). The brain will start moving around inside your skull when something shakes your head violently. But because there’s so little additional 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 when this happens, you get a concussion. This illustration makes it quite clear that a concussion is literally damage to the brain. Symptoms of concussions include the following:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of memory and confusion
- Blurry vision or dizziness
- Ringing in the ears
- Headaches
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Slurred speech
This list is not complete, but you get the idea. Several weeks to a few months is the normal duration of concussion symptoms. When somebody gets one concussion, they will typically make a complete recovery. But repeated concussions can result in permanent brain damage.
How is tinnitus triggered by a concussion?
Can a concussion mess with your hearing? Really?
It’s an interesting question: what is the link between concussions and tinnitus? Because it’s more accurate to say that traumatic brain injuries (even minor ones) can lead to tinnitus, it’s not just concussions. Even mild brain injuries can result in that ringing in your ears. That might happen in a couple of ways:
- Interruption of the Ossicular Chain: The transmission of sound to your brain is aided by three bones in your ear. A significant impact (the type that can cause a concussion, for example) can push these bones out of position. Tinnitus can be triggered by this and it can also disrupt your hearing.
- Damage to your hearing: For members of the armed forces, TBIs and concussions are frequently caused by 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. Tinnitus isn’t inevitably caused by a concussion, but they definitely do share some common causes.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: When your TBI injures the inner ear this form of concussion happens. This damage can cause inflammation and lead to both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Nerve damage: A concussion might also cause injury to the nerve that is in charge of transferring the sounds you hear to your brain.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: A TBI can cause the onset of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome. This is a result of the buildup of pressure inside of the inner ear. Significant hearing loss and tinnitus can become a problem over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
- Disruption of communication: In some cases, the part of your brain that manages hearing can become damaged by a concussion. Consequently, the signals sent from the ear to your brain can’t be correctly processed and tinnitus can be the outcome.
Of course it’s significant to note that no two brain injuries are precisely alike. Individualized care and instructions, from us, will be provided to every patient. You should certainly give us a call for an assessment if you believe you might have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
How do you manage tinnitus from a concussion?
Usually, it will be a temporary situation if tinnitus is the result of a concussion. How long can tinnitus last after a concussion? Weeks or possibly months, sadly, could be the time period. Then again, if your tinnitus has lasted for more than a year, it’s likely to be permanent. In these circumstances, the treatment approach changes to controlling your symptoms over the long run.
Here are some ways to achieve this:
- Hearing aid: Sometimes, tinnitus becomes pronounced because the rest of the world takes a back seat (as is the case with non-TBI-caused hearing loss, everything else gets quieter, so your tinnitus seems louder). A hearing aid can help raise the volume of everything else, ensuring that your tinnitus fades into the background.
- Therapy: Sometimes, patients can learn to ignore the sound by engaging in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You accept that the noise is there, and then ignore it. This technique takes therapy and practice.
- Masking device: This device is a lot like a hearing aid, only 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 actually want to hear.
In some cases, additional therapies may be necessary to achieve the desired result. Getting rid of the tinnitus will frequently require treatment to the root concussion. Depending on the status of your concussion, there may be a number of possible courses of action. As a result, a precise diagnosis is incredibly important in this regard.
Learn what the best plan of treatment may be for you by giving us a call.
You can control tinnitus caused by a TBI
Your life can be traumatically affected by a concussion. It’s never a good day when you get concussed! And if your ears are ringing, you might ask yourself, why do I have ringing in my ears after a car crash?
Tinnitus may emerge immediately or in the following days. However, it’s important to remember that tinnitus after a head injury can be successfully managed. Call us today to schedule an appointment.
