A TBI caused by war-related incidents can be devastating to veterans. In the short-term, they may result in a discharge from the military, but long-term, the injury may or may not heal fully.
A TBI can occur from any event impacting the skull ranging from explosions to falls or motor vehicle collisions. The TBI itself may range in severity from mild, which takes little time to recover, to an acute injury requiring surgery and long-term therapies.
How is the severity of a head injury determined?
To start with, the medical provider looks at the Glasgow coma scores of the patient, the length of time they lost consciousness and the length of time the person has post-traumatic amnesia. Long-lasting amnesia, poor coma scores and a long loss of consciousness is indicative of a more serious injury.
Do veterans recover from traumatic brain injuries?
In many cases, veterans do recover fully from mild TBIs, but even with mild TBIs, there can be lasting symptoms such as feeling dizzy or lightheaded, being easily irritated, getting overwhelmed easily or having headaches or ringing in the ears. Those with more serious TBIs may struggle with balance, cognition, seizures, long-term motor and sensory difficulties, speech issues and mood difficulties.
It’s not easy to predict how a TBI will affect a veteran, but the reality is that every veteran should have the option to obtain support while they’re recovering. War-related injuries are suffered while protecting people in the United States and other countries, so the veterans should have an opportunity to receive disability benefits and assistance in recovery.
