USA – August 14, 2020 – According to an online news article on wcwellness.com, when a person is injured in a car accident, one of the injuries sustained may be ringing in one or both ears. This condition is known as tinnitus. Many car accident victims state that the ringing in their ears seemed to occur […]
Car accident whiplash
USA – August 14, 2020 – According to an online news article on wcwellness.com, when a person is injured in a car accident, one of the injuries sustained may be ringing in one or both ears. This condition is known as tinnitus. Many car accident victims state that the ringing in their ears seemed to occur suddenly and a few weeks after an accident. Tinnitus is described as a buzzing, hissing, or ringing, or in the ears. The ringing in the ear or ears can be non-stop, or the ringing may come and go. Tinnitus is usually a symptom of whiplash or a traumatic brain injury (TBI) where there is trauma to the head. If you are experiencing tinnitus, it is important to seek medical attention, as tinnitus may be happening due to a more severe underlying medical issue.
Tinnitus happens when the ear’s nerve networks are agitated by trauma to the head. If these nerve networks are disturbed, this causes a “rewiring” of the brain’s tone map. People who endure traumatic brain injury may have the brain’s dormant nerve clusters turned on. This causes information to be passed along the wrong route and then sends the message to the wrong part of the brain, not intended to process auditory information. Since these nerve clusters are not typically associated with hearing, they create a ringing the ears.
Whiplash is another way people will experience ringing the ears after an auto accident. Whiplash is an injury to the neck caused by the rapid movement of the head during a motor vehicle accident. Nerves and ligaments are often damaged by sudden jerking movement. Occasionally whiplash injuries cause tinnitus. If you are experiencing tinnitus, seek medical attention as quickly as possible.
Tinnitus is also linked with injuries sustained during the deployment of an airbag. When an airbag is deployed, a very loud noise is produced. This noise can injure the inner ear resulting tinnitus. Moreover, when the head impacts a deploying airbag, this collision may injure the ear leading to ringing in the ears after a car accident.
Individuals with head or neck injury-related tinnitus should seek medical attention quickly. According to hear-it.org, those who seek medical attention right away see improved results within 2.3 years. Whereas, patients with tinnitus who waited for treatment saw an improvement in about 6.9 years.
