carwrecks

Site menu

HomeWhat's NewDrunk DriversCell phones and texting18-WheelersDrowsy DriversSide ImpactsVehicle DesignVehicle MismatchLibraryLinksQuestions and AnswersContact me

Tinnitus from airbags

10/23/2012

0 Comments

 
Each year, a countless number of drivers and passengers in motor vehicle accidents survive due to the deployment of the automobile airbag. According to a number of independent and government studies, automobile airbags have decreased fatalities by about 21 percent for unbelted drivers and by at least 9 percent for drivers wearing seatbelts.
 
The downside of airbag deployment is the introduction of a new spectrum of
injuries. Most are minor, but some can be life threatening. These injuries
include eye damage and trauma to the spine, facial nerves and facial bones.

Of particular interest to me are hearing and balance disturbances.

Clients who are in wrecks where the airbag explodes complain to me of hearing loss and/or ringing in their ears, a condition that physicians call tinnitus.  

New vehicles are now equipped with side and other airbags, sometimes totalling up to 10 airbags.  With airbags exploding at about 170 dB, a car wreck suddenly becomes a very noisy environment with high potential for hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

I hope that physicians treating victims of motor vehicle accidents will take ear injuries into consideration when documenting patient injuries and offering emergency care.

0 Comments

    Author

    Scott Brazil is an attorney in Houston, Texas, who is board certified in Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

    Archives

    March 2014
    February 2014
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011

    Categories

    All
    Adhd
    Airbag
    Backup Cameras
    Chad Dunn
    Distractions
    Drunk Driving
    Edr Black Boxes
    Ford
    Hit And Run
    Jeep
    Nhtsa
    Pedestrians
    Research
    Road Rage
    Statistics
    Subrogation
    Teens
    Texting
    Vehicle Fires

    RSS Feed