Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are nothing to take lightly. They can be as scary as they sound, and questions about a person’s life expectancy after suffering one arise often because they truly can be that severe; they can directly affect how long a person might live after suffering one. But in some cases, there are important factors to understand that could help to diminish the life-altering effects that severe brain trauma can have, including on a person’s life expectancy. And it most often has everything to do with getting that person the timely care they need.
Q: What is a TBI?
A: TBI stands for “traumatic brain injury,” and it is a type of injury that occurs when a person’s head is struck or moved by an external force hard enough to cause internal damage to the brain itself. This type of damage to the brain has many possible effects on a person’s health and well-being depending on the severity of the injury, but they can range from mild concussions that cause headache to blindness to loss of bodily function, and even death in the most severe of cases, whether that death is immediate or prolonged.
Q: How does a TBI occur?
A: A TBI can occur in any number of ways, but most commonly they happen when the head is struck with a great amount of force. This can happen in the cases of car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and even when playing contact sports. If an object, such as the interior of a vehicle, contact with the ground, or a piece of sports equipment or another player strikes the head with enough force, not only could it damage the exterior of the skull, but it can cause the brain to make impact with the interior of the skull, or become punctured itself, which can lead to serious injury. Even whiplash suffered in a seemingly minor car accident could impact a person’s brain enough to cause TBI, whether mild or severe.
Q: What factors can influence a person’s life expectancy?
A: In general, a person’s life expectancy is most commonly affected by their age and their overall health. Simply put, the older a person is, the less amount of life they have left to live. And the healthier a person is, the longer they are expected to live when taking their age into consideration along with their health, and barring any unpredictable circumstances. So oppositely, when a person’s health declines, it directly impacts their life expectancy, and suffering a TBI is no exception to this fact.
Q: How does the severity of a TBI affect the person’s life expectancy?
A: The effect a TBI can have on someone’s life expectancy is directly correlated to the severity of the injury itself. For example, a person who suffers a mild concussion is more likely to survive longer than someone whose TBI has eliminated their ability to move or breathe on their own. The brain plays so many critical roles in so many functions of a human’s life that the more damage is done to it, the more likely the resounding effects of that damage are to shorten a person’s life. That’s not to say, however, that a person with a TBI will automatically suffer a shorter life expectancy. The human brain is complex and unpredictable in that way.
Q: Does age play a factor in life expectancy after a TBI?
A: Age plays the same factor in life expectancy after suffering a TBI that it does for any type of injury suffered; the older a person is, the harder it generally is for them to recover from a severe injury or make a full recovery at all. Overall health can play a large factor in this as well, but for the large majority of the human population, the older one gets, the more difficult it is for the body to heal itself. So it is entirely possible, and even common, to see an elderly person who suffers the same TBI as someone half their age not live as long after the fact. This is just the nature of how the human body operates.
Q: Do preexisting health conditions affect life expectancy after a TBI?
A: Yes, preexisting health conditions have the ability to directly affect a person’s life expectancy after they’ve suffered a TBI. For example, if a person was to already suffer from a preexisting condition with one of their organs, then suffered a TBI that also directly affected the functionality of that organ (which the brain does have the ability to do), it is likely that the person’s overall life expectancy would be further diminished than if the same injury occurred for a person who did not have the preexisting condition. Similarly, if a person has a preexisting condition that has nothing to do with the effects their TBI has caused, it can still be more difficult for their body to make the all-around recovery needed to extend their life.
Q: How can getting the right healthcare help with life expectancy after a TBI?
A: Getting the proper healthcare needed to treat a TBI can mean all the difference in not only life expectancy, but quality of life. The longer a brain injury goes untreated as needed, the higher the possibility that the injury directly affects the sufferer, and thus their overall life expectancy. This is why it’s so critical to never put off treatment for a TBI or getting yourself checked out, even if you aren’t sure if you’ve suffered a brain injury. A doctor will be able to run the tests needed to determine the extent of your injury and come up with a care plan best suited to extending your length and quality of life.
Q: What should I do if I or someone I know has suffered a TBI?
A: The first thing to remember is to never hesitate to get yourself checked out. It is always better to run tests for a possible TBI and its symptoms and be cleared of them to never get checked out for them at all and suffer potential consequences that could have been addressed. If you or someone you know has suffered a head injury, keep an eye out for symptoms such as headache, dizziness, confusion, irritability, vision issues, loss of balance, and sensitivity to noise or light. Even if none of these symptoms appear but there is swelling or bleeding on the scalp, play it safe and head to the hospital for some tests.
And in those cases where a person has suffered a TBI that has directly affected their life expectancy or quality of life, it’s crucial to make effort to understand what they are going through, while at the same time being sure to exercise equivalent care for yourself through this process. And if you need legal representation if a personal injury has caused you or your loved one’s TBI, make sure to reach out to an expert in TBI cases.