Subtle Brain Injury

Many permanent brain injuries occur without the victim ever losing consciousness, and many occur without a striking force to the head. Injuries like these are considered subtle or mild traumatic brain injuries. Although these injuries tend to be less severe than those that involve a loss of consciousness or a hit to the head, they can still have devastating mental, physical, and emotional effects.

Unfortunately, many of these injuries do not appear to be medical emergencies and are not always treated immediately, if at all. It is often the case that the symptoms of a subtle brain injury may have passed by the time the patient receives medical attention. In the event of a head injury, it is crucial that any of the following symptoms be reported to a medical professional as soon as possible, even if the patient is no longer experiencing them:

• Physical symptoms – These may include headache, vision irregularities, nausea, vomiting, sleep disturbances, fatigue, numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, or any other abnormalities.

• Cognitive symptoms – Any deficits in concentration, attention, memory, speech, motor skills, or other difficulty controlling movement.

• Behavioral symptoms – Any changes in behavior or emotional state may indicate that brain damage has occurred.

It is important to keep in mind that even though a hit to the head may appear to be minor and something that just needs to be “walked off”, permanent brain damage can result from any trauma that involves any of the following symptoms:

• Any loss of consciousness – Damage may occur even if the loss of consciousness lasted a matter of seconds. Many patients are not even aware that they lost consciousness for such short lengths of time.

• Memory loss – Any memory loss about events preceding or following the accident indicates that some amount of brain damage should be suspected.

• Altered mental state immediately following the accident – Any feelings of disorientation, confusion, haziness, clumsiness, or spatial difficulties.

• Nerve function deficits – A loss of movement or sensation in a specific part of the body may indicate subtle brain injury. This may include any change in the ability to speak, change in speech patterns, or any other normal function.