Directly after a head injury happens, it is very common to experience dizziness, nausea and a headache.  It is also possible to experience neck pain, a feeling of being anxious, being irritable, fatigued or depressed, and hearing a ringing in your ears.

A head injury may also cause disorientation with problems making sense of things, remembering some things, concentrating or being able to do multiple things at the same time.  It is common for these kinds of symptoms to disappear in a couple weeks but in the case of a very extreme injury it could last for more than a year.

If there is any damage to the brain it will be dependent on how severe the damage to the head was but the majority of head injuries do not result in damage to the brain or anything permanent.  Memory loss usually is only about the things that happen immediately after the injury occurred.  These memories may never return but all normal thinking processes do return with no problems.

When the head does sustain an injury there can be a tearing of tissues with bleeding and the brain may swell but the majority of individuals do recuperate after a head injury with no problems that are long term.

There are several different kinds of head injuries.  When there is bleeding in the brain it is called a brain contusion or a bruise of the brain.  If the skull bones are broken they can have sharp edges that lacerate the brain and cause yet another injury and bleeding.  The cracked skull is called a skull fracture.  When the bleeding in the brain begins to clot and collect it creates a bump and is called hematoma.  This can take some time to appear, even weeks and will be accompanied by problems with balance, listlessness, vomiting and headaches.  There is the more commonly known concussion which will make the person dizzy with problems with balance or vision and may cause them to lose consciousness for a brief period.
When you contact your health care professional you will be asked several questions about the accident that caused the injury and any symptoms that followed.  It may also be necessary for the injured person to stay in the hospital in order to be observed for a time.  Depending on the severity of the injury, a CT and MRI may be necessary.