You know that scene in your favorite action movie where something blows up near the hero and the sound gets all high-pitched-buzzing? Well, at least some degree of mild 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 signifies a condition called tinnitus. Normally, 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 prevalent traumatic brain injuries that occur. And they can occur for many reasons (for example, falls, sports accidents, and motor vehicle crashes). How something such as a concussion triggers tinnitus can be, well, complex. But here’s the good news: even if you sustain a brain injury that causes tinnitus, you can usually treat and manage your condition.
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 tightly in your skull. The brain will begin to move around inside your skull when something shakes your head violently. But your brain could wind up smashing into the inside of your skull because of the little amount of additional space in there.
This causes damage to your brain! The brain can impact one or more sides of your skull. And this is what leads to a concussion. When you picture this, it makes it easy to see how a concussion is quite literally brain damage. Symptoms of concussions include the following:
- Dizziness and blurred vision
- Nausea and vomiting
- A slow or delayed response to questions
- Ringing in the ears
- Slurred speech
- Confusion and loss of memory
- Headaches
This list isn’t exhaustive, but you get the point. A few weeks to several months is the normal duration of concussion symptoms. Brain injury from a single concussion is typically not permanent, most people will end up making a full recovery. But recurring concussions can result in permanent brain damage.
How do concussions trigger tinnitus?
Can a concussion interfere with your hearing? Really?
The matter of concussions and tinnitus is an intriguing one. After all, 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 few ways:
- Nerve damage: There’s also a nerve that is responsible for transmitting sounds you hear to your brain, which a concussion can damage.
- Disruption of the Ossicular Chain: The relaying of sound to your brain is aided by three bones in your ear. These bones can be knocked out of place by a substantial concussive, impactive event. Tinnitus can be caused by this and it can also interrupt your ability to hear.
- Meniere’s Syndrome: The onset of a condition known as Meniere’s Syndrome can be caused by a TBI. When pressure builds up in the inner ear this condition can occur. Significant hearing loss and tinnitus can become a problem over time as a result of Menier’s disease.
- A “labyrinthine” concussion: This type of concussion takes place when the inner ear is injured due to your TBI. Tinnitus and hearing loss, due to inflammation, can be the consequence of this damage.
- Damage to your hearing: For members of the military, TBIs and concussions are frequently caused by distance to an explosion. And explosions are incredibly loud, the sound and the shock wave can damage the stereocilia in your ear, causing hearing loss and tinnitus. So it isn’t so much that the concussion caused tinnitus, it’s that the tinnitus and concussion have a common underlying cause.
- Disruption of communication: Concussion can, in some cases, damage the parts of the brain that manage hearing. Consequently, the messages sent from the ear to your brain can’t be precisely digested and tinnitus can result.
It’s important to stress that every traumatic brain injury and concussion is a bit different. Every patient will receive individualized care and instructions from us. Certainly, if you think you have experienced a traumatic brain injury or a concussion, you need to call us for an assessment right away.
How do you deal with tinnitus caused by a concussion?
Most frequently, tinnitus caused by a concussion or traumatic brain damage will be short-term. How long can tinnitus linger after a concussion? Well, it may last weeks or months. But, it’s likely that your tinnitus is permanent if it persists for more than a year. Over time, in these situations, treatment plans to manage your condition will be the best plan.
This can be achieved by:
- Masking device: This device goes in your ear much like a hearing aid, but it produces particular noises instead of amplifying things. This noise is customized to your tinnitus, drowning out the sound so you can focus on voices, or other sounds you really want to hear.
- Therapy: Sometimes, patients can learn to overlook the sound by engaging in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You ignore the sound after acknowledging it. This technique requires therapy and practice.
- Hearing aid: Sometimes, tinnitus becomes dominant because the rest of the world goes into the background (as is the case with non-TBI-caused hearing loss, everything else gets quieter, so your tinnitus seems louder). Hearing aids help your tinnitus go into the background by turning the volume up on everything else.
Obtaining the desired result will, in some situations, call for additional therapies. Management of the root concussion may be required in order to make the tinnitus go away. The right course of action will depend on the nature of your concussion and your TBI. As a result, a precise diagnosis is incredibly important in this regard.
Consult us about what the ideal treatment plan might look like for you.
TBI-triggered tinnitus can be managed
A concussion can be a significant and traumatic situation in your life. When you get a concussion, it’s a bad day! And if you’ve been in a car crash and your ears are ringing, you may wonder why.
It could be days later or instantly after the crash that tinnitus symptoms surface. However, it’s important to remember that tinnitus after a head injury can be successfully managed. Schedule a consultation with us today.