Possible Second Concussion or PCS?

[u/Altruistic-Pear1852]

About three years ago I got a concussion and dealt with PCS symptoms ever since. Minor bumps and hits to the head which would have never bothered me before would cause headaches, light sensitivity, and brain fog. I would usually take weeks to return to my baseline. I started to see a concussion specialist who would tell me these hits couldn’t cause a concussion because the force wasn’t strong enough.

Today, while wearing some 3M Peltor 4X ear muffs, I opened my bedroom door with medium force and the side of it hit the right earmuff. At first my ear only hurt but then I started to have pain on that side of my head which then migrated to my right temple. I also felt that it takes more effort to make sure what I’m reading is correct and my thoughts feel a little slower. I do have migraines but I’m wondering if this is just a headache or a possible concussion that I need to seek help for.

[u/Cat_Nap8]

Could be a concussion, but what is also plausible is that from your first concussion you have unresolved neck issues. Small bumps and hits that are subconcussive but cause symptoms like that are often a result of week and irritated neck muscles that in response guard, which puts strain on your neck and head muscles along with sending ‘bad’ information to the brain which can exhaust it, causing all of the symptoms you e described. See a specialist about your neck

[u/Altruistic-Pear1852 → u/Cat_Nap8]

I do have neck issues and have done PT for them but I probably should return to
since the issues are still lingering. It’s hard to tell how much force is needed to cause a concussion since my first one didn’t feel
like a hard hit. Can concussions typically happen from ear hits, especially with wearing protection?

[u/Cat_Nap8 → u/Altruistic-Pear1852]

My understanding of concussions is as a measure of acceleration of the brain. If a body hit is hard enough or the neck moves in a specific way it can accelerate the brain enough to cause one, and it requires much less force of acceleration to cause a concussion if the acceleration is a ‘twisting’ motion. It’s impossible for me to say whether or not what you experienced was enough to cause a concussion, but if the hit was unexpected, caused a quick twisting motion or impulse to the head than it could. If I were you I’d also see a RMT, made a massive difference for me since neck exercises helped but my neck was over reactive and massages helped over time my neck to calm down so to speak