According to the research publication "Traumatic Brain Injury: Hope Through Research", acquired head injuries (also referred to as traumatic brain injury, or T.B.I) occur more frequently among children under the age of five, males between the ages of 15 and 24 and among the aging population aged 75 years and older.
Mild Head Injury
Mild head injuries comprise the most prevalent and misdiagnosed of these problems. According to Traumatic Brain Injury.Com this classification as "mild" is characterized by a 30 minute or less period with a loss of consciousness with confusion and disorientation to follow. More often referred to as a "concussion", 15 percent of those reported continue to have ongoing problems related to the initial event (which is usually a blow to the head and neck) for more than a year. The symptoms associated with initial head injury include fatigue, recurring headaches, visual disturbances, problems with memory, attention span deficits, inability to concentrate on tasks, sleep disturbances, dizzy spells, emotional disturbances (especially depressed moods), seizure activity, nausea, loss of the sense of smell or taste, sensitivity to light or sounds and decision-making problems.
Moderate Head Injury
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke posits that an individual with a moderate head injury may experience that same symptoms as those with a milder version, with the addition of complicating factors and symptoms. These factors and symptoms include increasing frequency or ongoing headache, repeated bouts of nausea and vomiting, convulsions and seizure activity. As these complications begin to mount, they become criteria for a more severe head injury.
Severe Head Injury
There is little difference between a moderate head injury and the more severe, with an exception of coma or brain death (moving well-beyond a "severe" head injury). According to the American Academy of Neurology, the symptoms associated with mild and moderate grow to become extremely problematic for the sufferer. The individual is often symptomatic (if any relief at all), which includes a headache that will not go away, increased bouts of nausea and vomiting, increased likelihood of convulsion or seizure activity, the inability to wake from sleep states, pupil dilation, slurred speech, weakness and numbing sensations in the limbs, poor coordination and behavioral problems.
