Hi-

Very to meet all of you, some for which might be suffering similar symptoms as my own.

5 weeks ago i fell off a staircase rail and landed 12-15 feet on concrete fracturing my right thumb, spraining my wrist, and straining my right leg.

i also managed to hit the right side of my head heavily in the concrete upon impact. Although i did not lose consciousness i'm suffering tremendously from noise sensitivity and tinnitus in my right ear making it difficult to sleep which is leading to fatigue/exhaustion.

As it is now 5 weeks since the accident the ringing in the ears and noise sensitivity has yet to reside. It's the worst at night when i'm in a quiet room and any sort of external noise only intensifies the ringing as my ear remains noise sensitive.

I have been trying my best to stay active and do work, yet it is very difficult. I feel like my entire system just wants to shut down. I've seen an ENT and my hearing is normal and i don't have wax buildup. Also Head Ct Scan came back negative. I'm wondering if i have pinched a nerve, or broken a blood vessel upon impact? All of this is very difficult to deal with.

I'm wondering if anyone might have advice? Has anyone had similar symptoms? It's already been 5 weeks and I'm beginning to worry if my brain will ever recover? Thanks a lot for those who take the time to report feedback.

I know it may seem like a long time, but 5 weeks is actually fairly early in recovery. Instead of trying to continue to work, try to rest.

Trying to continue to do the same activities as you did before your injury is going to prolong your recovery.

Take it from me - I ignored my PCS for 6 - 7 months, didn't take a cognitive break, and when I did I started noticing huge improvements.

martin,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Your fall sounds scary. Glad to hear you were not injured worse. Tinnitus and noise sensitivity are very common after a concussion. At just 5 weeks, you are still early in your recovery.

It may help if you slow down and reduce your activity level. The injured brain needs quiet rest with moderated stimulation. The Vitamins sticky at the top has some good information for you to consider.

My best to you.

Hi Thomas-

Thank you very much for your reply. When you say cognitive break do you mean total silence (no tv, internet, work) ?

I know that 5 weeks is not a world of time however I'm having great difficulty getting sleep because the ringing in my right ear keeps me up. It's all very challenging. Hopefully you are doing well and did not have to deal with ringing in the ears/noise sensitivity post concussion.

Thanks for your feedback.

It may help if you can use a sound/music to listen to that can somewhat hide the tinnitus. I do well with boring sounding voices that sort of bore me to sleep. Maybe an audio book will help.

You may benefit from large doses of Omega 3 DHA fish oil. One study showed improvements from large doses daily. 10 grams per day was used.

Thanks for your feedback Mark.

The fall was incredibly scary. I feel that some noises intensify ringing in my rich ear. My frustrations is that i wake up with a huge amount of ringing in my right ear that is very intense. The ringing in my right ear did not start until a few days after my concussion. I initially took percocet (oxycodone-amphetamin) and am now on lunesta/zanax.

It's an awfully frustrating situation. As far as rest would you suggest eliminating any time of exercise (bicycle at the gym)?

I really want to get past this asap as sleep and peace of mind is so important to my well being. Again thanks for your support. I will double up on the omega 3.

In my experience, the sound level alone at the gym would mean the gym is a no-go. The exercise may be putting stress on your system. Usually, people complain about PCS head aches that are triggered by exercise. Apparently, you are not struggling with head aches.

Learning to ignore or not pay attention to the ringing is an important skill. My ears ring 24/7. I have learned to just ignore it. Getting frustrated often makes the ringing louder.