Traumatic Brain Injury

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a traumatic brain injury or TBI is "a serious medical issue that affects how your brain works." TBIs can be either penetrating, meaning something actually penetrates the skull, or blunt force/closed meaning someone hits their head but the skull remains in tact. Both can have very serious consequences.

TBI cases are very complicated. For starters, science is just now starting to recognize the serious nature of these injuries. Someone "seeing stars" or having their "bell rung" is no longer brushed off as minor or something to laugh about. Additionally, there is growing evidence that TBIs often have delayed onset symptoms, meaning someone may feel fine for a few hours, days, or weeks, and then start experiencing problems later on. Additionally, there is also increasing evidence that someone with a past TBI is more susceptible and will experience worse symptoms than someone with no prior TBIs. In other words, someone with a prior TBI is more vulnerable to a future TBI.

TBI symptoms vary, but they often include things like irritability, confusion and difficulty concentrating, memory loss, dizziness, ear ringing, behavioral changes, and headaches.