Vision Impairment and Blindness—Traumatic Brain Injury

Also called: Acquired brain injury, TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens when a bump, blow, jolt, or other head injury causes damage to the brain. Every year, millions of people in the U.S. suffer brain injuries. More than half are bad enough that people must go to the hospital. The worst injuries can lead to permanent brain damage or death. Half of all TBIs are from motor vehicle accidents. Military personnel in combat zones are also at risk.

Symptoms of a TBI may not appear until days or weeks following the injury. A concussion is the mildest type. It can cause a headache or neck pain, nausea, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and tiredness. People with a moderate or severe TBI may have those, plus other symptoms:

• A headache that gets worse or does not go away
• Repeated vomiting or nausea
• Convulsions or seizures
• Inability to awaken from sleep
• Slurred speech
• Weakness or numbness in the arms and legs
• Dilated eye pupils

Health care professionals use a neurological exam and imaging tests to assess TBI. Serious traumatic brain injuries need emergency treatment. Treatment and outcome depend on how severe the injury is. TBI can cause a wide range of changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, or emotions. TBI can be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. People with severe injuries usually need rehabilitation.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• Brain injury – discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Chronic subdural hematoma (Medical Encyclopedia)
• EEG (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Head injury – first aid (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Intracranial pressure monitoring (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Subdural hematoma (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Low vision

If you have low vision, eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery may not help. Activities like reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV may be hard to do. The leading causes of low vision and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. Other eye disorders, eye injuries, and birth defects can also cause vision loss.

Whatever the cause, lost vision cannot be restored. It can, however, be managed. A loss of vision means that you may have to reorganize your life and learn new ways of doing things. If you have some vision, visual aids such as special glasses and large print books can make life easier. There are also devices to help those with no vision, like text-reading software and braille books.

The sooner vision loss or eye disease is found and treated, the greater your chances of keeping your remaining vision. You should have regular comprehensive eye exams by an eye care professional.

NIH: National Eye Institute

• Blindness and vision loss (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Home vision tests (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Living with vision loss (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Vision – night blindness (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Vision problems (Medical Encyclopedia)