Head Injury Center

Hearing Problems are a very common side effect of traumatic brain injuries as there is a direct link between the central nervous system in the human body and the inner part of the ear. After suffering from a brain injury, there are many causes due to which hearing problems can occur. A hearing problem can occur when the inner ear or the temporal lobe are injured during a brain injury.

Also, a wound that causes bleeding in the ear canal, damage of the middle part of the ear and internal damage to the tissues of ears can lead to hearing problems in TBI patients.

A series of membranes that are very delicate in nature form the inner part of the ear. During a head trauma, these membranes are prone to damage that can result in serious problems related to hearing. A severe blow to cochlea which is a vital spiral shaped bone in the ear can also lead to hearing defects. Tinnitus and complete loss of hearing are the hearing problems that are reported by TBI patients in most of the cases. Tinnitus is a problem in which the human ear makes a perception of sound even if there is no sound audible in the surroundings. Hyperacusis is another hearing problem in which the patient tends to hear a louder sound than the actual intensity of the sound. There are some other problems related to hearing that occur in brain injury patients like auditory agnosia and difficulty to filter or distinguish a particular sound from other sounds present in the background. A person cannot recognize or place the meaning of words that he hears in auditory agnosia.

Hearing is one of the primary means of communication so a complete hearing loss or even a partial loss creates many problems for the patients. The cognitive and social problems as a result of TBI are complicated to a greater extent in case of a hearing problem. Many times it happens that TBI patients cannot detect the presence of a hearing problem in them. It is advisable that patients of traumatic brain injury should consult an audiologist to check whether there is any problem regarding hearing even if it appears that nothing is wrong with the ear.

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Hearing Problems after TBI