847.501.2020

Traumatic
Brain Injury
& Concussion

Solutions for Concussions, Post-Concussive Syndrome & Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Experts call traumatic brain injury a growing “public health challenge.”

As many as 3.8 million cases of such injury occur annually in the United States.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

can be overwhelming and have what researchers call “a profound impact” on all aspects of a patient’s life, including abilities to think and move during daily functions and activities. The more detailed mechanisms of recovery from such injuries are not well understood. Medical management of the resulting neurological and cognitive symptoms and complications oftentimes proves difficult. That’s because the brain is complex and responds differently to forces applied to it, depending on severity, location and angle of impact. Also, no two people are the same, and patients exposed to similar injuries will respond differently.

About 75 percent of cases of brain trauma are considered mild but they are by no means benign. In fact, authors of a study published in the January issue of JAMA Psychiatry report that as many as one in five individuals who have sustained a mild head injury will develop mental health conditions, such as major depressive disorder, personality changes and behavioral abnormalities.

Take The 60 Second Mind•Eye Symptoms Assessment

Signs and Symptoms

Brain injury impairments can be physical, mental and emotional and both short-term and long-lasting. They may appear immediately after the trauma or becoming manifest days – or weeks – later. Among the symptoms of an injured brain are:

 

  • Headache

  • Nausea

  • Vertigo (dizziness) and issues with balance

  • Cognitive deficits, such as memory loss, inability to concentrate, confusion, aphasia and other language processing difficulties, such as difficulty with word recall, losing train of thought and problems reading or writing

  • Heightened sensory systems:

  • Visual problems: blurred vision, abnormal eye movements, poor eye coordination, light sensitivity and difficulties in judging distance, seeing more in two dimensions rather than three

  • Hearing issues: increased sensitivity to sound, partial hearing loss, ringing in ears

  • Smell and taste issues: increased or decreased sensitivity to smells

  • Physical changes that affect appetite, sleep, body chemistry and other basic functions

  • Mental alterations, including depression, emotional problems, irritability and decreased ambition/motivation.

  • Epileptic-like seizures

Standard Therapies

Medication, hospitalization, even surgery may be required immediately following a brain trauma depending on severity of injury. A period of rehabilitation also may be needed, although recovery from brain injury can be slow, taking weeks, months and even years. Oftentimes, a patient is simply prescribed rest and monitored for emergence of any neurological issues.

Still would like to find out more about Brain Injury Rehabilitation?

You can download these articles  written by
Dr. Zelinsky:

Case Study

An artificial intelligence expert who struggled with symptoms of traumatic brain injury for eight years following a car crash was able to be “put back together again” in steps, with remarkable progress in the first month, thanks to the efforts of two professional women — a neuroscientist and an optometrist using advanced neuro-optometric rehabilitation.

So, says Clark Elliott PhD, a professor at Chicago’s DePaul University, who details his long journey back to health in a 2015 book that has now been read or discussed by millions of people throughout the world – The Ghost in My Brain.

At the Mind-Eye Institute

We understand that interactions between the electrical and biochemical pathways in the brain affect physical, physiological and psychological systems.

Patients undergo thorough examination with advanced technology and testing techniques to measure visual performance and visual processing functions and determine whether the visual processing systems are in balance with other sensory systems that require perception of space and time, such as auditory localization ability. With this information, Institute experts can consider how light might be manipulated to positively impact patient brain function, with the goal of finding optimal ways of mitigating symptoms not improved or resolved through standard approaches.

Specifically, our team offers patients prescriptive eyeglasses, contact lenses or other optometric interventions to selectively stimulate light dispersed on the retina. Individualized lenses can:

 

  • Maximize patients’ visual performance and visual processing capabilities to create a stable balance between auditory and visual localization, each of which is used to visualize surrounding space.

  • Improve patient perception of the surrounding environment in order to modify behavior and enhance communication skills.

  • Help rebuild brain pathways or develop new pathways that enhance a patient’s ability to learn, understand and interact normally with others.

  • Help calm the nervous system’s reactions to environmental changes.

Getting In Touch With Us

To find out the next steps of registering as a patient or registering a child as a patient, please call the Mind•Eye Institute office at 847.501.2020 or you can fill out our online New Patient Inquiry Form on the right.

Request an Appointment Today

 

TESTIMONIALS

MAKE THE CONNECTION

'Dr. Zelinsky Is Renowned'

~ Norman Doidge, M.D. & Clark Elliott, Ph.D., Dr. Patrick Quaid and Patricia S. Lemer praise her accomplishments:

"Zelinsky fit Elliott with a series of eyeglasses designed to improve the perceptual damage that made his life so difficult... Getting fitted for Zelinsky's eyeglasses is like no eye appointment you've ever had... Now, Elliott says, he is almost entirely symptom-free, able to problem-solve, multi-task and find his way easily — all abilities he lost in the auto accident in 1999. When he put on his Phase VI glasses he felt something that he hadn't felt for years: "I felt normal."

Review: 'The Ghost in My Brain'
- The Chicago Tribune

"One brilliant Chicago-area optometrist I know, Deborah Zelinsky OD, FNORA, FCOVD, has developed a unique, patented, easy-to-administer evaluation called the Z-Bell Test. This test measures the efficiency of integration between visual processing and listening....A 2014 study at Vanderbilt University found that children with autism do not synchronize their seeing and hearing...I have watched Dr. Zelinsky administer this test to disbelieving colleagues, who were astounded by its accuracy and results...Over the past two decades, The Z-Bell Test has become internationally recognized by the scientific community.”

- Patricia S. Lemer, Licensed Profesional Counselor (LPC)

"I visited Dr. Zelinsky, and she showed me how she can use optical lenses to alter sensory filtering, by directing light to different retinal cells and brain circuits. This can influence activity in the brain and the hypothalamus to better regulate body chemistry, sensory integration, and even some auditory processing. [Dr. Zelinsky] works frequently with patients working with learning and cognitive disorders as well as TBIs."

- Norman Doidge, M.D.

"I was delighted to have Dr. Zelinsky personally contribute to the book. Her wealth of knowledge in the area of visual development and visual processing is widely known, not just through her contribution of eye-care to the author of “The Ghost in My Brain”, but also via her Mind-Eye Institute and the lectures and training their provide. Dr. Zelinsky is not just colleague and a friend, but also a valued member of the neuro-optometric community and an invaluable bridge to other allied professions treating brain injuries. Her contribution to the book is deeply appreciated."

- Dr. Patrick Quaid, MCOptom, FCOVD, PhD

Clinic Business Hours:

Monday 8AM–6:45PM
Tuesday 8AM–6:45PM
Wednesday 7:45AM–6:30PM
Thursday 8AM–6:45PM
Friday 8AM–6:45PM

Closed Saturday & Sunday

Contact Us:

 

Call

During Business Hours:

847.501.2020

 

EMail

info@mindeye.com

Northbrook Clinic Address

1414 Techny Rd,
Northbrook, IL 60062, USA

FAX

847.501.2021