If you suspect your loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may be looking for physical signs of the injury. While a traumatic brain injury can involve a serious bump, blow or jolt to the head, not all damage is visible. In fact, you may want to look at any significant cognitive, emotional or behavioral issues your loved one might display.
Know what to look for
Here are a few of the signs to be aware of:
Cognitive challenges
Is your spouse struggling with memory, attention, or decision-making? These difficulties can be frustrating for both you and them, as they can hinder their ability to perform everyday tasks. Cognitive issues can make it difficult for them to:
- Follow conversations
- Maintain attention to detail on work or home projects
- Solve problems
- Plan, prepare and organize their lives
- Remember important names, dates or times
- Process new information
While cognitive challenges can present issues for their day-to-day functioning, emotional challenges can present another set of problems.
Emotional challenges
Is your spouse more moody than usual? Are they having more incredible difficulty regulating their emotions? You may be distressed by these unusual changes. However, this is often another sign of a severe traumatic brain injury. Emotional issues stemming from a TBI can look like:
- Sudden angry outbursts
- Excessive sadness or depression
- Sudden irritability
- Excessive anxiety
Identifying emotional challenges as signs of a TBI can be more complex than cognitive ones, especially if your loved one is already dealing with a mood disorder. Speaking with a medical professional can help you identify if more is happening.
Behavioral challenges
Is your loved one being more impulsive than usual? Or are they acting in strange ways they didn’t act before? These can be some of the most apparent signs of a TBI. Behavioral challenges can make it difficult for them to:
- Find motivation to perform tasks
- Act inappropriately in social situations
- Sit still when doing so is required
- Do things that you need them to do
Dealing with this can be very distressing, especially if they haven’t had issues in the past.
Seeking medical attention is crucial
Realizing that your loved one may be suffering from a TBA can be challenging. That’s why encouraging them to seek medical treatment is so important. Early intervention can help you identify problems early on and get appropriate treatment.
At the same time, treatment can be costly. You may wonder how you and your spouse will afford the costs associated with recovery. If your loved one suffered a TBI in a car crash, slip and fall accident or due to another’s carelessness, you can seek the compensation you deserve by filing a catastrophic injury claim.