What Side Effects can Happen After an Injury?
Q.
My question is actually for my boyfriend because he's too stubborn to ask someone.
Just over a year ago, Spring of 2007, he had an incident on his dirt bike and had head trauma. Today, over a year later, he is still having problems with his ears.There will be a lot of pressure and his ears will start to bleed. It actually effects his hearing as well and when he goes and cleans out his ears there's clots of blood.
Do you know why this is still happening when the accident was over a year ago?
A.
My first response is that unfortunately your boyfriend has sustained an internal injury if, as you say, there is internal pressure and bleeding, as well as hearing loss and blood clots. This is very serious and he needs to see a Dr and probably an ear, nose and throat specialist immediately.
Do not let his stubbornness prevent these issues or complications become any more serious than they already are. I wonder if he has done anything else over the year to have made the situation worse?
Both flying and swimming can cause pressure changes in the inner ear, but under normal conditions these activities are absolutely fine and cause no problems whatsoever. Without seeing him, there can be no diagnosis, but there is some urgency I imagine for him getting this situation checked out. Was there any concussion at the time of the accident?
The whiplash effect of knocks to the head is well-known, and can be extremely nasty. It depends whether there are immediate or delayed symptoms. It sounds in this case that the symptoms are playing out over a longer period, and this needs to be invesigated, possibly by a brain scan.
The head is a well protected part of the body, but as your boyfriend has found, it can be extremely vulnerable as well, and all care should be taken. Now that he has sustained an injury, and the long term symptoms are as you describe, then he needs to be checked out.
