Regaining “Yourself”: Why You May Not Feel Like Yourself After a Concussion

Introduction

Susan's concussion in May 2019 was severe. Her head struck a pole, causing a loss of consciousness and a subsequent fall. The fall resulted in brain bleeds in three different regions of her brain.

Within days, the symptoms began. "I began feeling nauseous and went to a hospital emergency room where I was diagnosed as having a concussion," Susan relates. But nausea proved the least of her problems.

Before her injury, Susan had built a career as a writer and public relations and media relations professional for a major university system in Texas. Afterward, the fundamental skills her career required — focusing, concentrating, processing conversation, attending meetings — became impossible.

"I could no longer work in an office setting or manage in-person attendance at work-related meetings because they were too noisy, and I could not process what other people were saying," she says. "And, to make matters worse, I was unable to drive to work-related events where I normally would interact with the news media."

For many people living with post-concussion symptoms, the hardest part is how invisible the struggle is to everyone else. Susan's experience was no different.

"I had cognitive problems, memory problems, visual problems, sensory processing issues," Susan recalls. "I sometimes was unable to find the right word when talking, and, at one point, I had to go to physical therapy because I forgot how to swing my arms when I walked, and I could not stand on one leg or jump without falling down."

She missed weddings, funerals, and other important events. She gave up dancing — once one of her favorite activities. She could no longer drive.

When people describe not feeling like yourself after a concussion, they often assume it's purely an emotional response to trauma. But research increasingly points to a sensory and visual processing explanation that may go unrecognized.

The brain relies on seamless coordination between the eyes, ears, and body to build a stable sense of the surrounding environment. When a concussion disrupts that coordination — even subtly — the brain is forced to work overtime just to perform tasks that once felt automatic. The result can look like personality changes, emotional instability, or cognitive decline, but the root often lies in how the brain is processing sensory information.

Many concussion patients report being told nothing is structurally wrong, yet their daily lives remain severely disrupted. This can happen because structural imaging evaluates anatomy, while the processing disruptions behind many lingering symptoms involve how the brain coordinates sensory signals — a different dimension of function.

A neuro-optometric evaluation focuses specifically on this dimension. It examines the relationship between peripheral eyesight, central eyesight, and auditory processing — areas that may hold clues to why a person still feels "off" long after a concussion.

"Within 48 hours of finishing the book, I contacted the Mind-Eye Institute," Susan says. "My first appointment was in early 2020, and I underwent what seemed to be a half day of testing."

At the heart of Susan's experience — and the experience of many concussion patients who feel they've "lost themselves" — is a concept most people never hear about: retinal processing.

"Optical interventions, including highly individualized therapeutic eyeglass lenses, can selectively stimulate retinal activity, thereby influencing retinal processing and brain function and re-integrating a person's sensory inputs, especially eyes and ears," Dr. Zelinsky says.

The Mind-Eye team's use of filters, lenses, and prisms in therapeutic glasses — referred to as Brainwear™ — alters the way light disperses across the retina. Changes in luminance on the retina affect how the brain interprets and reacts to information about the environment and can impact a person's spatial awareness, body movement, and selective attention to sound.

Given Susan's significant auditory-visual struggles — meetings were overwhelming because she could not process what people were saying — this kind of sensory mismatch is exactly what the Mind-Eye Institute's patented Z-Bell℠ Test is designed to evaluate. The Z-Bell℠ Test measures the synchronization between a patient's auditory and visual spatial maps. During the test, a patient reaches out with eyes closed and tries to touch a ringing bell. If the patient cannot locate it, the optometrist places different lenses, prisms, and filters across the patient's closed eyelids until an optimal combination allows the patient to find the bell without conscious effort. Light still passes through closed eyelids and activates parts of the brain not used for eyesight, making the test a window into how well the brain is integrating what a person hears with where they perceive things to be in space.

At the end of Susan's initial evaluation, "Dr. Zelinsky explained that we all have informational highways going through our brains, but some of them in mine had become dead ends or blocked due to the damage from my head injury. She said the goal would be to build new brain highways that would go around all the congestion in my head."

"We are using the principles of advanced optometric science, including retinal stimulation with light, to modulate neural circuits in our patients," Dr. Zelinsky explains. "Changes in how the retina processes environmental signals — both image-forming and non-image-forming — through variations in the way light passes through it influence both physical and mental health."

Eventually, during a recent appointment, Dr. Zelinsky told Susan she no longer needed Mind-Eye glasses — a milestone that brought her to tears. "I am not normally a person who cries, but I was not expecting that," says Susan, who continues wearing Mind-Eye contact lenses. "It was the first time in almost four years of care at Mind-Eye that I was told I no longer need therapeutic glasses."

Today, Susan can do the everyday things most people take for granted.

"I can drive again. Vehicles moving across the right side of my peripheral eyesight no longer startle me," she states. "I can watch television and listen to the radio, process what people are saying to me, and respond. I am able easily to read a book from start to finish, and the change in my ability to focus is amazing."

Most importantly: "My sense of self has improved."

"I am starting to feel somewhat normal again for the first time since my accident," Susan says. "The Mind-Eye Institute has been critical to my recovery. Dr. Zelinsky and her staff have given me back a piece of myself."

"For the first time in years, I am feeling almost normal again, thanks to professionals like Dr. Zelinsky and the team at Mind-Eye."

Note: Although Susan Himes reports progressive symptom relief, her experience is individual and not guaranteed for every patient. Results vary.

If you or someone you care about hasn't felt the same since a concussion or traumatic brain injury, a neuro-optometric evaluation may uncover sensory processing disruptions that are contributing to lingering symptoms. Contact the Mind-Eye Institute to schedule a comprehensive evaluation, or begin with the free online Symptoms Assessment.

Medical Disclaimer: The content on this page is for informational purposes only. Mind-Eye Institute clinicians are Doctors of Optometry (ODs), not medical doctors or neurologists. Neuro-optometric care alleviates visual and retinal processing disruptions; it does not cure or reverse traumatic brain injury. Individual results vary. Always consult a qualified medical professional regarding health concerns.