Traumatic Brain Injuries, also referred to as TBIs occur across the United States at an estimated rate of 1 every 16 seconds. Symptoms of the so-called mild TBIs typically involve problems with memory, mood changes, and personality changes. Most of these injuries go undiagnosed because the symptoms are only detectable by those who knew the person well before the injury occurred. Frequently, diagnosis of a mild TBI is dependent upon history and clinical presentation because physical evidence of injury often does not exist. There may be no evidence of a direct blow to the head or any other type of direct head trauma immediately following an incident that results in a mild TBI. Such evidence may be absent because the injury can occur with little or no impact to the head. The TBI itself results from the soft brain impacting on the hard, sharp ridges on the inside of the skull during the sudden accelleration or deceleration event. There may be absolutely no impact at all or the impact may be against a cusioned surface, such as an airbag, leaving little or no evidence of impact on teh face or head. Traditional imaging studies such as CT (CAT scan) or MRI most often do not show evidence of mild TBIs because they are not sensitive enough to detect the widespread axonal injuries that can collectively result in devastating neuropsychological and cognitive deficits. TBIs can occur as the result of impacts at varying speeds and from multiple directions. The severity of the TBI does not necessarily correlate with the speed of the vehicle during a collision, but from the unique combination of deceleration and rotational forces taht affect the brain during the collision.
Frontal impacts are one of the most common occurrences of TBIs. This is often due to a combination of the head snapping forward and then rotating due to the seat belt. At the time of a frontal collision, the head and shoulders snap forward while the car is suddenly halted. Then the shoulder harness will catch the left shoulder. This results in the body then rotating around that shoulder and the head violently rotates. Then head then suddenly snaps backward until the back hits the headrest. This violent back and forth motion often results in the coup - contracoup injury.
Common Symptoms of Mild TBI
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- Loss of smell (Anosmia)
- Short-term memory loss
- Confusion
- Lack of Concentration
- Speech difficulties