You Know when you’re viewing an action movie and the hero has a thunderous explosion close by and their ears start ringing? Well, guess what: that most likely means our hero sustained at least a mild traumatic brain injury!
To be sure, brain injuries aren’t the bit that most action movies focus on. But that ringing in our hero’s ears represents a condition called tinnitus. Tinnitus is most often talked about from the perspective of hearing loss, but actually, traumatic brain injuries such as concussions can also cause this particular ringing in the ears.
Concussions, after all, are one of the most common traumatic brain injuries that happen. And they can occur for many reasons (for instance, falls, sporting accidents, and motor vehicle crashes). It can be a bit complex sorting out how a concussion can cause tinnitus. Luckily, treating and managing your conditions is typically very achievable.
Concussions, exactly what are they?
A concussion is a specific form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). One way to view it is that your brain is protected by sitting tightly in your skull. When something occurs and shakes the head violently enough, your brain starts moving around in your skull. But because there’s so little additional space in there, your brain may literally crash into the inside of your skull.
This causes damage to your brain! The brain can impact one or more sides of your skull. And when this happens, 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:
- Vomiting and nausea
- Ringing in the ears
- Headaches
- Blurry vision or dizziness
- Loss of memory and confusion
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Slurred speech
Even though this list makes the point, it’s certainly not exhaustive. A few weeks to a few months is the normal duration of concussion symptoms. When someone gets a single concussion, they will usually make a full recovery. But, repetitive or multiple concussions are a different story (generally speaking, it’s a good idea to avoid these).
How do concussions cause tinnitus?
Is it really feasible that a concussion may impact your hearing?
It’s an intriguing question: what is the connection between concussions and tinnitus? Because it’s more correct to say that traumatic brain injuries (even minor ones) can lead to tinnitus, It isn’t just concussions. That ringing in your ears can be set off by even mild brain injuries. Here are a couple of ways that may occur:
- Disruption of communication: Concussion can, in some cases, harm the parts of the brain that manage hearing. When this occurs, the signals that get transmitted from your ear cannot be precisely processed, and tinnitus might occur consequently.
- 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. Tinnitus can be caused by this and it can also disrupt your ability to hear.
- Damage to your hearing: For members of the armed forces, TBIs and concussions are often a result of distance to an explosion. Permanent hearing loss can be triggered when the stereocilia in your ears are injured by the exceptionally noisy shock wave of an explosion. Tinnitus isn’t necessarily caused by a concussion, but they definitely do share some root causes.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: When your TBI injures the inner ear this kind of concussion occurs. Tinnitus and hearing loss, as a result of inflammation, can be the result of this damage.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: A TBI can cause the development of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome. When pressure builds up in the inner ear this condition can occur. Eventually, Meniere’s syndrome can result in significant tinnitus and hearing loss.
- Nerve damage: A concussion might also cause damage to the nerve that is in charge of transferring the sounds you hear to your brain.
Of course it’s significant to note that no two brain injuries are precisely the same. Every patient will receive personalized care and instructions from us. You should certainly call us for an evaluation if you think you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
How do you deal with tinnitus caused by a concussion?
Typically, it will be a temporary scenario if tinnitus is the result of a concussion. How long can tinnitus last after a concussion? Weeks or months, sadly, could be the time period. But, it’s likely that your tinnitus is long lasting if it persists for more than a year. Over time, in these circumstances, treatment plans to manage your condition will be the best plan.
Here are some ways to accomplish this:
- Hearing aid: In a similar way to when you’re dealing with hearing loss not caused by a TBI, tinnitus symptoms seem louder because everything else is quieter. A hearing aid can help raise the volume of everything else, assuring that your tinnitus fades into the background.
- Therapy: In some cases, therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be utilized to help patients ignore the noise produced by their tinnitus. You disregard the sound after accepting it. This technique requires therapy and practice.
- Masking device: This device goes in your ear a lot like a hearing aid, but it generates particular noises instead of making things louder. Your particular tinnitus symptoms determine what sound the device will generate helping you disregard the tinnitus sounds and be better able to focus on voices and other outside sounds.
Obtaining the desired result will, in some cases, require additional therapies. Clearing up the tinnitus will often require treatment to the root concussion. The right course of action will depend on the status of your concussion and your TBI. This means a precise diagnosis is incredibly important in this regard.
Learn what the best plan of treatment may be for you by getting in touch with us.
TBI-caused tinnitus can be managed
A concussion can be a substantial and traumatic event in your life. When you get a concussion, it’s a bad day! And if your ears are ringing, you might ask yourself, why are my ears ringing after a car accident?
Tinnitus may emerge instantly or in the days that follow. But you can successfully control tinnitus after a crash and that’s significant to keep in mind. Schedule a consultation with us today.