A person with a suspected brain injury should call 911, go to the emergency room, or contact a physician immediately. After an impact or injury to the head, an individual can experience a variety of symptoms. Common symptoms of a brain injury include:
- Spinal fluid (thin, clear liquid) coming out of the ears or nose
- Loss of consciousness
- Dilated (the black center of the eye is large and does not get smaller in light) or unequal size of pupils
- Vision changes (blurred vision or seeing double, not able to tolerate bright light, loss of eye movement, blindness)
- Dizziness
- Balance problems
- Respiratory failure (difficulty breathing)
- Coma (not alert and unable to respond to others) or semi-comatose state
- Paralysis, or difficulty moving body parts
- Weakness
- Poor coordination
- Slow pulse
- Slow breathing rate, with an increase in blood pressure
- Vomiting
- Lethargy
- Headache
- Confusion
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus), or changes in ability to hear
- Difficulty with thinking skills (difficulty “thinking straight”, memory problems, poor judgment, poor attention span, a slowed thought processing speed)
- Inappropriate emotional responses (irritability, easily frustrated, inappropriate crying or laughing)
- Difficulty speaking (slurred speech, difficulty swallowing)
- Body numbness or tingling
- Loss of bowel control or bladder control
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