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.
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 topic of a tinnitus conversation, but traumatic brain injuries can also trigger this condition.
Concussions, after all, are one of the most common traumatic brain injuries that happen. And they can occur for numerous reasons (for example, falls, sports accidents, and motor vehicle accidents). It can be a bit complicated sorting out how a concussion can trigger tinnitus. Fortunately, treating and managing your conditions is typically very achievable.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is a specific form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). One way to think about it is that your brain is protected by fitting snuggly in your skull. When something occurs and shakes the head violently enough, your brain begins moving around in your skull. But because there’s so little extra space in there, your brain could literally crash 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. When you visualize this, it makes it simple to see how a concussion is quite literally brain damage. Symptoms of concussions include the following:
- Dizziness and blurred vision
- Headaches
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Vomiting and nausea
- Slurred speech
- Loss of memory and confusion
- Ringing in the ears
This list isn’t complete, but you get the point. Several weeks to several months is the normal duration of concussion symptoms. Brain damage from a single concussion is generally not permanent, most individuals will end up making a full recovery. However, repeated or multiple concussions are a different story (generally, it’s the best idea to avoid these).
How do concussions trigger tinnitus?
Is it really feasible that a concussion may impact your hearing?
It’s an interesting question: what is the connection between tinnitus and concussions? Not surprisingly, concussions won’t be the only brain traumas that can trigger tinnitus symptoms. Even minor brain injuries can lead to that ringing in your ears. That may happen in a couple of ways:
- Disruption of the Ossicular Chain: There are three bones in your ear that help transmit sounds to your brain. A significant impact (the kind that can trigger a concussion, for instance) can push these bones out of place. This can interrupt your ability to hear and result in tinnitus.
- Nerve damage: There’s also a nerve that is in charge of sending sounds you hear to your brain, which a concussion can harm.
- Damage to your hearing: Experiencing an explosion at close range is the cause of concussions and TBIs for lots of members of the military. Irreversible hearing loss can be triggered when the stereocilia in your ears are damaged by the incredibly noisy shock wave of an explosion. Tinnitus isn’t always caused by a concussion, but they definitely do share some root causes.
- Disruption of communication: Concussion can, in some instances, damage the parts of the brain that control hearing. Consequently, the messages sent from the ear to your brain can’t be properly processed and tinnitus can result.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: When your TBI injures the inner ear this type of concussion occurs. This damage can create inflammation and cause both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- 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 happen. Significant hearing loss and tinnitus can become a problem over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
It’s important to emphasize that every traumatic brain injury and concussion is a little different. Individualized care and instructions, from us, will be provided to every patient. Certainly, if you think you have suffered a traumatic brain injury or a concussion, you should call us for an evaluation as soon as possible.
When you get a concussion and tinnitus is the consequence, how can it be treated?
Typically, it will be a temporary situation if tinnitus is the result of a concussion. How long does tinnitus last after a concussion? Weeks or months, sadly, could be the time period. But, it’s likely that your tinnitus is irreversible if it lasts more than a year. Over time, in these circumstances, treatment plans to manage your condition will be the best plan.
This can be achieved by:
- 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.
- Masking device: This device is similar to a hearing aid, only instead of helping you hear things more loudly, it produces a specific 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 pay attention to voices and other outside sounds.
- Therapy: Sometimes, patients can learn to disregard the sound by engaging in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You disregard the sound after acknowledging it. This technique takes therapy and practice.
Obtaining the desired 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 status of your concussion, there could be a number of possible courses of action. This means an accurate diagnosis is incredibly important in this regard.
Find out what the best plan of treatment might 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 a concussion! And if you have ringing in your ears, you might ask yourself, why are my ears ringing after a car accident?
Tinnitus could emerge immediately or in the following days. However, it’s essential to remember that tinnitus after a head injury can be successfully managed. Schedule a consultation with us today.
