Given that motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of accidental death in the United States, people able to walk away from a crash might feel very fortunate. In fact, some people who get severely hurt at the time of a collision don’t take any steps to protect themselves, possibly because they don’t realize they have gotten hurt.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are easy for someone to miss at first, as symptoms can take a while to develop. Knowing what a brain injury might look like can help you keep yourself or other passengers in your vehicle safe. Recognizing the symptoms and getting the necessary medical care sooner rather than later can help everyone involved.
TBIs can create all different kinds of symptoms
If you think about everything your brain does, it’s actually very reasonable that brain injuries have a very broad range of symptoms. Your brain does everything from regulating your body temperature to storing all of your most treasured memories.
As such, the location and severity of your brain injury will have a major impact on the kinds of symptoms you develop. Some of the more common symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury include:
- nausea
- vomiting
- headache
- issues with balance
- ringing in the ears
- blurry vision
- changes in sleep patterns
- motor control issues
- changes in personality and mood
- memory issues
What may at first seem like a minor issue at first could actually continue to worsen as time goes by. TBIs can progress and result in increasingly worrisome consequences for the person involved.
Medical evaluation is critical when you suspect a brain injury
Regardless of your current insurance situation, if you have been in a car crash caused by another person and now suspect that you could have a TBI, getting medical treatment sooner rather than later is highly important. The sooner you have a diagnosis and can begin treatment, the better the chances you have of limiting the progression of any symptoms you have developed and of recovering from your injury.