Sensory sensitivity in operation enduring freedom/operation Iraqi freedom veterans with and without blast exposure and mild traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT

To examine factors associated with noise and light sensitivity among returning Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans with a self-reported history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) due to blast exposure, we compared the self-report of noise and light sensitivity of 42 OEF/OIF Veterans diagnosed with mTBI resulting from combat blast-exposure to that of 36 blast-exposed OEF/OIF Veterans without a history of mTBI. Results suggest a statistically significant difference between Veterans with and without a history of mTBI in the experience of noise and light sensitivity, with sensory symptoms reported most frequently in the mTBI group. The difference remains significant even after controlling for symptoms of PTSD, depression, and somatization. These data suggest that while psychological distress is significantly associated with the complaints of noise and light sensitivity, it may not fully account for the experience of sensory sensitivity in a population with mTBI history.

KEYWORDS:

• Blast exposure
• concussion
• light sensitivity
• noise sensitivity
• posttraumatic stress
• traumatic brain injury

Acknowledgments

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon. The contents do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. All authors declare no conflicts of interests involved in the research presented in the manuscript. The corresponding author (M. L. Callahan) declares she had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.