Common Indicators of a Head Injury

This questionnaire is not meant to be a formal "test" to see if you have a head injury. If you have multiple "YES" answers, bring this questionnaire to your doctor. Additional tests (medical and neuropsychological) maybe ordered.

Headaches
Yes No - Do you have more headaches since the injury or accident?
Yes No - Do you have pain in the temples or forehead?
Yes No - Do you have pain in the back of the head (sometimes the pain will start at the back of the head and extend to the front of the head)?
Yes No - Do you have episodes of very sharp pain (like being stabbed) in the head which lasts from several seconds to several minutes?

Memory
Yes No - Does your memory seem worse following the accident or injury?
Yes No - Do you seem to forget what people have told you 15 to 30 minutes ago?
Yes No - Do family members or friends say that you have asked the same question over and over?
Yes No - Do you have difficulty remembering what you have just read?

Word-Finding
Yes No - Do you have difficulty coming up with the right word (you know the word that you want to say but can't seem to "spit it out")?

Fatigue
Yes No - Do you get tired more easily (mentally and/or physically)?
Yes No - Does the fatigue get worse the more you think or in very emotional situations?

Changes In Emotion
Yes No - Are you more easily irritated or angered (seems to come on quickly)?
Yes No - Since the injury, do you cry or become depressed more easily?

Changes In Sleep
Yes No - Do you keep waking up throughout the night and early morning?
Yes No - Do you wake up early in the morning (4 or 5 a.m.) and can't get back to sleep?

Environmental Overload
Yes No - Do you find yourself easily overwhelmed in noisy or crowded places (feeling overwhelmed in a busy store or around noisy children)?

Impulsiveness
Yes No - Do you find yourself making poor or impulsive decisions (saying things "without thinking" that may hurt others feelings; increase in impulse buying?)

Concentration
Yes No - Do you have difficulty concentrating (can't seem to stay focused on what you are doing)?

Distraction
Yes No - Are you easily distracted (someone interrupts you while you are doing a task and you lose your place)?

Organization
Yes No - Do you have difficulty getting organized or completing a task (leave out a step in a recipe or started multiple projects but don't complete them)?

¹Johnson, Glen, The Traumatic Brain Injury Survival Guide. 1998. www.tbiguide.com