Orange County Brain Injury
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Types Of Traumatic Brain Injury

There are several types of brain injuries. These are typically categorized based on the specific changes that occur in the brain at the time of injury. They can also be classified by their location, depending on which lobe of the brain is affected.

Anoxic Brain Injury

When the brain is deprived of oxygen, permanent brain damage begins to occur within four minutes. As the brain loses oxygen, its functions begin to slow down, which can also affect the vital functions of the entire body, potentially leading to permanent harm. Drowning or near-drowning, electrocution or shock, heart problems, suffocation or strangulation, and carbon monoxide poisoning could cause this type of injury. Unfortunately, these cases rarely result in good outcomes.

Hypoxic Brain Injury

Oxygen flow is reduced or constricted, not deprived. The quality of life of a victim and their future earning potential could disappear in just a few minutes with a hypoxic brain injury. A hypoxic brain injury can result from a birth injury, drowning, undiagnosed heart failure, or other causes where oxygen flow to the brain is reduced significantly. This injury differs from an anoxic injury, where oxygen completely stops.

A victim of hypoxic brain injury may experience short-term memory loss, diminished ability to reason, motor skill deficits, speech difficulties, and problems concentrating. In some cases, the outcomes are not great; however, there can be some progress made with prolonged medical care. Speech therapy, rehab, and health care services in the home can greatly enhance the individual’s quality of life. Notably, these are all damages a victim can potentially seek if their injury resulted from someone else’s negligence.

Concussions

Concussions are among the most common types of brain injury. Here, the brain and the skull get bounced against each other in either mild or severe ways, often leading to a loss of consciousness (though in mild concussions, that isn’t always the case). A concussion is diagnosed as mild to severe depending on the amount of time the victim was unconscious.

Concussions can occur through a wide variety of causes, from slips and falls to sports injuries, and they can also be the result of violence. A concussion may not seem like a major problem at first, particularly if loss of consciousness is minor or minimal. It can still become a major problem, with time from work lost for over a year in some cases.

Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)

This serious injury is the result of damage to the axons that connect brain cells and is likely to impair quality of life significantly, including loss of motor skills and cognitive function. A DAI often causes a coma, and axonal changes can be detected on CT and MRI scans.

These injuries often occur after a significant impact. That can include being shaken, being injured in a car accident at high speeds, or an injury that might twist the brain in a way that damages the nerve axons. The outcome for these cases is a lowered quality of life that includes impaired brain function, problems with motor skills, and a reduced cognitive capacity and ability. This type of injury has the potential to permanently alter an individual’s life.

Frontal Lobe Injury

The frontal lobe is at the front of the brain, across the forehead. It rules our executive function (the ability to organize and plan) and can help to regulate our thoughts. The frontal lobe is also a reasoning center for us. When this part of the brain experiences injury, complications can include an inability to organize or plan, think reasonably, and react to life around us.

Injuries to this part of the brain can also lead to dramatic changes in personality. Such damage may require extensive health care for the rest of their lives, necessitating considerable adaptation by their entire families.

Parietal Lobe Injury

The parietal lobe is located between your frontal lobe and your occipital lobe, which is at the back of your head. This lobe works to regulate your sensory information. That means that it takes in information to send to the parts of your brain that can see, smell, hear, and perceive incoming information, such as emotion. This lobe will also help you determine navigation senses, depth perception, and the proper use of your spatial senses.

Injury to this lobe can be catastrophic to an individual’s quality of life. Victims of this kind of injury may struggle with multitasking, reading, or even distinguishing between left and right. A lot of relearning is often necessary, and many might find it challenging to return to their previous work capacity. Many victims may require assistance for the rest of their lives.

Temporal Lobe Injury

The brain has two temporal lobes, located on either side of the head, and a primary lobe for processing the senses. While the parietal lobe can receive sensory information like smells and sounds, the temporal lobe processes these things in a way that allows us to have other experiences with them. The temporal lobe has some emotional function attached to it. You might have a feeling, memory, or nostalgic experience with a smell or sound on occasion. That is your temporal lobe at work.

This kind of brain injury is common in car accidents. When there is a side-impact crash, for example, such as those that occur at an intersection, the temporal lobe can be damaged. Whether it’s a T-bone collision, a windshield impact, an accident that lands you on the pavement, cheek facing down, or any kind of accident that injures the sides of your head could lead to this kind of brain injury.

Outcomes in these cases include hearing loss or problems, emotional changes, and you may even have difficulties with language. With these injuries, long-term care is often required, and your family may undergo severe emotional and financial stress.