The silent epidemic

Most brain injuries never reach a diagnosis

In a CDC survey, one in eight adults reported a brain injury in the past year — around thirty times what emergency department records showed. The gap between what happens and what gets diagnosed is where NeuroGlympse works.

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Scale

The most underdiagnosed condition in America

Surveillance built on hospital and emergency department records substantially undercounts traumatic brain injury, because many mild injuries are never reported or treated in a formal healthcare setting at all.²

The size of that gap is startling. In a CDC pilot survey, one in eight adults reported sustaining a TBI in the previous twelve months — roughly thirty times what emergency department data indicated. For children and teenagers it was one in ten, about seventeen times higher.¹ In an Army population, 57% of probable TBI cases never sought medical care.⁴

The causes are ordinary: minor car accidents, sports collisions, and simple falls that people dismiss as inconsequential at the time.

1 in 8

adults reported a TBI in the past year — about 30× what ED data showed¹

56%

of ED patients meeting mild TBI criteria did not receive the diagnosis³

33–42%

period prevalence of major depression within the first year after TBI⁵

Where it happens

Three ordinary situations

Vehicle accidents

Even low-speed collisions can cause brain trauma as the brain moves inside the skull. Many people walk away feeling “fine” despite having sustained an mTBI.

Sports injuries

Contact sports frequently produce undiagnosed concussions, particularly at non-professional levels where no medical staff is present to assess anyone.

Falls

Slips and falls at home or work often go unreported, yet can cause significant neurological damage — especially in older adults.

The compounding problem

The double burden

The real damage is sequential. First the brain injury goes undetected. Then the mood disorder that follows it develops without anyone connecting the two. Patients end up treated for depression or anxiety as though it appeared out of nowhere, with no one addressing the neurological injury underneath.

Without connecting those dots, treatment targets the symptom and misses the cause.

Warning signs

What you should not ignore

Cognitive changes

Difficulty concentrating, memory problems, confusion or mental fogginess — especially following any impact to the head, however minor it seemed.

Emotional symptoms

New or worsening irritability, depression, anxiety or mood swings appearing within weeks or months of a physical injury or accident.

Physical indicators

Persistent headaches, sensitivity to light or noise, sleep disturbance or balance problems developing after any head impact.

What changes

Detection, then the right intervention at the right time

Early detection

Eye movement testing and symptom monitoring find the injury while it is still measurable.

Timely rehab

RTM and vestibular rehabilitation begin precisely when they should, not months later.

Escalation that exists

TMS is introduced for patients left with persistent symptoms rather than being left to cope.

Measurable progress

Symptoms and physiology are tracked objectively over time — and you can see the trend, whichever way it moves.

References

Every figure on this page traces to a source below, so the claims can be checked rather than taken on trust.

1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pilot survey analysis. Screening for traumatic brain injury: findings and public health implications. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.
2.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The scope and burden of traumatic brain injury. Traumatic Brain Injury: A Roadmap for Accelerating Progress. 2022.
3.Powell JM, Ferraro JV, Dikmen SS, Temkin NR, Bell KR. Accuracy of mild traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2008;89(8):1550–1555.
4.Cohort study in an Army population. Traumatic brain injuries: unreported and untreated in an Army population. Military Medicine. 2019.
5.Systematic review and meta-analysis. Predictors of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.
6.Longitudinal cohort study. Psychometric evaluation of anxiety, depression, and sleep quality after a mild traumatic brain injury. Behavioural Neurology.
7.Systematic review and meta-analysis. Post-traumatic stress disorder after civilian traumatic brain injury: prevalence rates. Journal of Neurotrauma.

This page is educational and is not medical advice. Prevalence figures are presented as the source reports them, including confidence intervals and ranges; a single number would imply more precision than the evidence supports.

If something changed after your accident, get it checked

Same-day testing across our clinic network. About 30 minutes, non-invasive, read by a board-certified neurologist.

Get screened Call (504) 370-3910