Top 5 Lesser-Known Long-Term Concussion Effects
By: Carson Cooper
With more and more research being uncovered about the mysteries of concussions and their effects, it is hard to find information that is not redundant. Many know that concussions can lead to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) which is a very degenerative brain disease, but what about the other long-term effects like behavioral issues and alterations in one’s personality? Here are the top five long-term effects of concussions that are lesser-known:
# 5: Disorders of Smell and Taste
Anosmia (not insomnia) is a condition where one suffers a loss of smell, either total or partial that is set on by traumatic brain injuries, infection, or blockages in the nose. The loss of taste is offset by one’s loss of smell. Whether a short-term impairment or long-term, this side effect from a concussion is not one typically hears about when they hear concussion stories.
According to Australia’s Brain Injury Organisation,“The area of the brain responsible for these senses sits on top of bony protrusions within the skull and they can be damaged during trauma to the head.”
Another cause of loss of smell and taste from a concussion is suffering damage to the olfactory nerve. This nerve connects the nose to the brain and allows the brain to transmit impulses from the smell receptors. The severity of damage to that nerve can determine the duration of one’s loss of smell.
#4: Sleep Pattern Disturbances
Suffering from a concussion or a severe traumatic brain injury causes one’s sleep patterns to be abnormal. A concussion causes one to sleep longer than usual and people who suffer from a concussion generally feel tired all the time despite the extra sleep.
According to NPR, “ A study of 31 patients with this sort of brain injury found that 18 months afterward, they were still getting, on average, an hour more sleep each night than similar healthy people were getting. And despite the extra sleep, 67 percent showed signs of excessive daytime sleepiness. Only 19 percent of healthy people had that problem.”
The online edition of the journal, Neurology, discusses how there could be a “quiet epidemic of sleep disorders among people with traumatic brain injuries.”
Most of the concussed patients in the study had no idea that their sleep patterns had changed and “If you ask them, they say they are fine,” says Dr. Lukas Imbach who is a senior physician at the University Hospital Zurich in Zurich. The researchers say that sleep disorder in concussion patients will linger for at least two years and probably even longer.
#3: Irritability and Other Personality Changes
Personality changes are a big long-term side effect of concussions. In many cases, some who make a “good recovery” from a concussion may never have made a full recovery mentally. According to the Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Project led by Dr. Claude Munday, Dr. William Lynch, and John Haller, “ Even a person who makes a ‘good’ recovery may go through some personality changes. Family members must be careful to avoid always comparing the impaired person with the way they “used to be.”
“Personality changes are often an exaggeration of the person’s pre-injury personality, in which personality traits become intensified. Some changes can be quite striking. It may be, for example, that the head injury survivor used to be easygoing, energetic, and thoughtful and now seems easily angered, self-absorbed, and unable to show enthusiasm for anything.” It is important to remain as calm as possible when dealing with individuals who are affected by personality change and accept that is it part of their condition. Also be patient as these conditions can last a very long time, if not for life.
#2: Sensitivity to Light and Noise
Many who have suffered a concussion may find an abnormal sensitivity to light and sound that make them encumbered by daily life. The part of the brain that deals with processing sound and sight is the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is located on the side of the brain and many athletes who suffer from a concussion have this part of their brain affected quite often.
A report from Brainline mentions how a sensitivity to light can be debilitating and says, “You may feel a heightened sensitivity to light and may even need to wear your sunglasses inside. You may have to request that fluorescent lights be turned off. Computer and reading tasks may take longer than usual, and tend to be more confusing and tiring.”
Furthermore, the report goes on to say, “Many individuals report staying at home to avoid the assault and feelings of being overwhelmed in these noisy situations, or they may go out only at times when places are less crowded and less noisy. Any noise can assault and overwhelm a person with MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury), including a vibrating refrigerator, heating system, or humming fan, etc.”
Bottom line, these concussion effects make daily life so debilitating and not many people know of these effects. Researchers say that even if someone has been “cleared” of their concussion, these effects can flare up after months and even years after their concussion. At times, light patterns and sounds can cause irritability and migraine headaches to flare up.
#1: Concussions Can Cause Mental Disorders and ADHD is closely related
Many have heard that concussions can cause disorders, but a concussion causing ADHD, that’s unheard of right? Recent research suggests that those who have suffered from a TBI (traumatic brain injury) may develop ADHD down the road. It also seems to be the case that for children who suffer a traumatic brain injury and later diagnosed with ADHD, their ADHD was caused by a TBI. So, parents may want to think twice before signing their kid up for youth football.
However, there are no flat out results that say concussions 100% cause ADHD, but there is a deep-rooted correlation between the two. For example, Dr. Larry Maucieri argues that, “But diagnostic purists (like myself) argue that ADHD is a really developmental disorder, and that it can’t come from events like a TBI or a stroke. For us, ADHD is a developmental process unfolding probably as a result of biological and environmental factors, and that it must surface first in childhood. This pretty much follows the standard criteria for ADHD as set forth by the DSM-5, the psychiatric bible of diagnosis” (APA, 2015).
Others argue that ADHD is not acquired through one’s development and environment and that an acquired form of ADHD can be brought on by TBIs (traumatic brain injury). When discussing the possibility of there being adult-onset ADHD, a widely known ADHD expert replied, “There is no evidence that ADHD can come on in mid- to late life unless it is a result of a brain injury or disease, in which case it is an acquired type of ADHD.”
The debate is still out there but science and research is pointing in the direction that yes, ADHD can be caused from a concussion. Other mental disorders that can be caused from concussions and TBIs include: depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, memory loss, and of course CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which has caused many individual’s brains to deteriorate at an accelerated rate.
Mary Iacarrino, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital says, “Concussions are a very common injury and not everybody needs specialty care, but a significant minority does.” There are ways to treat these long-term effects and remember that not everyone responds to a concussion the same way.
While concussions are a common injury, they can have serious long-lasting effects and should not be taken lightly. Talk to your doctor today if you have experienced any of these symptoms mentioned after taking a blow to your head (even if that blow to your head was years ago).
