Concussions and Flying

[jko_7]

So I heard that if you had a concussion at any point in your life, then you aren't allowed to fly (commission into the aviation community) because of risk of something happening due to a more 'sensitive brain' per say.

Is this true?

(applying to USNA and USAFA and want to fly)

 

[NavyHoops]

I had three and was physically qualified for pilot although I did not want to fly.

 

[Pima]

My DS had 1 and is a pilot. That being said his was a minor concussion, back to school the next day, no academic exceptions, such as, if he had a test that day he was to take it and within the allotted time limit for the test.
Concussions are one of the questions on your DoDMERB exam, and they will look into the number and the severity of each concussion. For example, as I stated my DS was back at school with no restrictions the next day, and he only had 1 concussion which was at the age of 14. Now, let's say you play FB and have had at least a concussion every yr since you were 13, with 2 or 3 of them where they had you come back for rechecks (another scan), or you were told not to play FB for x amt of time, plus given some academic exceptions.
~ IE a couple of yrs ago on this site a poster was thrown from a horse. Her concussion was so severe they were not allowed to return to school for a week+. She also had some memory issues. The last I knew she was DoDMERB DQd and not waived by all of the commissioning sources she applied to, i.e. USAFA is a commissioning source, and they have their own waiver board. Although AFROTC cadets commission ADAF, just like USAFA, they have their own waiver board. In essence, AFROTC could say no, and USAFA could say yes, or vise a verse.

In the end, impo, it is not as clear cut as you may think. There are medical nuances involved due to severity.

FWIW, if you have an occurrence of a concussion on your medical records, don't hide it. Main reason why is if you hide it on your DoDMERB, but 3 yrs later when you take your FAA FC1 physical for UPT you own up to it, and place the date back to prior to your DoDMERB exam than you have opened a whole new can of worms bc you withheld/lied on your DoDMERB exam yrs earlier.
~ They will pull up your DoDMERB exam on file. That will be their base line, which is why they will know if you have a concussion on record. The same is true for everything on that questionnaire. A cadet on this site stated on his DoDMERB that he never smoked marijuana, a lie out of fear being dq'd. As a jr in AFROTC he had to go to WPAFB for his FAA FC1 physical. Prior to this exam, he came clean to his det Commander. They went to bat for him, but in the end AFROTC disenrolled him out of the program. He had told them that he indeed smoke marijuana 3 times. The problem was 2 fold from their perspective. 1. Did he lie...bad or 2. Did he tell the truth on his DoDMERB and during college he smoked? Bad. Notice it had nothing to do with the number per se.

Point being you need to be honest now bc it will catch up with you, and the risks are much higher later on.

 

[justdoit19]

Very true @Pima!! It’s difficult to impossible to cover up a story that isn’t truthful forever.

I will add specifically about concussions: protocols especially in this area are currently ever changing. Even between the years my 3 boys played football. It’s impossible to make a blanket statement in this area about, IMO. So diagnosis, coupled with treatment changes make this one a particularly dicey area I would think.

 

[Stealth_81]

My son was a football player in high school playing running back, defensive back, and kickoff/punt returner. He had three hospital visits for possible concussions from that. He didn’t miss any school and had no memory issues. All were documented with DoDMERB and he graduated from USAFA and is a pilot. I will say his high school had a very good program where all athletes did a baseline concussion protocol test at the beginning of their freshman year that is good at documenting any changes, so those results helped confirm no lasting issues.

Stealth_81

 

[Pima]

I will say his high school had a very good program where all athletes did a baseline concussion protocol test at the beginning of their freshman year that is good at documenting any changes, so those results helped confirm no lasting issues.

Stealth_81

I agree some schools are really great when it comes to protocol.
Our DS2, not AF, played FB (tight end). His senior yr, he played a Friday night away game which we did not attend. Monday he showed up for practice and I got a call from the coach, come get your son and take him to the hospital for a scan. The coaches notice that he did not remember certain plays. They started quizzing him with simple questions, such as what was the final score Friday night? He got it wrong. They went a ittle deeper, and his answers were wrong. We never noticed anything at home, but again, we were not at the game to see him take a hit. We took him to the ER. The scan proved he indeed had a concussion. He was given a docs note to miss school the next day. The FB team coaches made him to step back. He had to basically start all over again. Any FB parent knows the system. He had to 1st go back into waring the pads during practice, no contact. Than pads and helmet, still no head contact, and finally full gear. It was about 2 weeks before he was allowed to play. The school required a new CT scan before he could play.

Concussions are now the new big thing regarding TBI. 10 yrs ago nobody talked about it bc it was not on the radar, now it is, due to the highlighting of the lasting effects of multiple concussions within the FB world. Thus, the military is looking closer at concussions than they did a decade ago.

Think of it from different ways. A decade ago, ADD was a DQ if on meds. Now, if you have ADD, and are off the meds., it is waiverable. Decades ago smoking marijuana was too bad, so sad. For a while certain acne prescriptions threw you into the waiver pool. When my DH entered the rated world in 88, wearing glasses prior to UPT was a big hurdle. Now, as long as it is correctible. Let's not even go down the PRK/Lasik rabbit hole. Just saying over years it does change regarding standards.

Finally, I get it. You want to fly, but I will say this one thing that it is my default comment when I read "I want to fly" . Do you know what they call a pilot at any base? It is not Pilot Smith. It is Lt., Captain, Major, etc.

Think also about those years you owe back.

 

[jaglvr]

Encouraging for my DD. Encountered a mild concussion from cheer last year. Post testing (our school is awesome and all sports are tested yearly) her scores were almost perfect (higher than baseline) with no missed school. Though sadly she was not cleared in time to compete in States. But she will declare it when time comes and we will hope for the best.

 

[GoCubbies]

So I heard that if you had a concussion at any point in your life, then you aren't allowed to fly (commission into the aviation community) because of risk of something happening due to a more 'sensitive brain' per say.

Is this true?

(applying to USNA and USAFA and want to fly)

Not true. You can still qualify to fly even if you've had a history of concussion(s). The main issues with concussions are 1) increased risk for seizures years after the event and 2) cognitive effects/deficit.

The further out you are from the concussion the better. The highest risk of seizures (upward of 80-85%) occur within 2 years of a concussion. So you're in 7th grade and you get in a fight. You lost because the dude hit you in the head with a bat causing you to have a concussion. You're now in 10th grade. You haven't had a seizure at all, so you're probably not going to have for the rest of your life. If you have a mild concussion, then your risk for a seizure remains higher than the normal population for 5 years (with most seizures coming the first 2 years). However, the aeromedically acceptable risk for mild isn't at 5 years. I haven't memorized the policy or the numbers, but I think the aeromedical acceptable risk for sudden incapacitation due to a seizure is less than 1 year. In other words, depending on the service, you may be qualified to fly in less than 1 year after a mild concussion. I do know the waiting period is 2 years for the USN after a mild concussion.

If you get into a Service Academy and want to fly but had a history of concussion, there's a decent chance you'll be allowed to fly. By getting into a Service Academy you needed good grades and ACT/SAT scores, served in leadership positions, participated in sports, etc... so you've demonstrated you've had no cognitive effects/deficits.

These are just plain, vanilla concussions though. Throw in extra stuff that can occur with a concussion like bleeds inside your brain, skull fractures, prolonged loss of consciousness, abnormal EEG, and post-concussion syndrome, then all bets are off.

 

[liv68]

Not true. You can still qualify to fly even if you've had a history of concussion(s). The main issues with concussions are 1) increased risk for seizures years after the event and 2) cognitive effects/deficit.

The further out you are from the concussion the better. The highest risk of seizures (upward of 80-85%) occur within 2 years of a concussion. So you're in 7th grade and you get in a fight. You lost because the dude hit you in the head with a bat causing you to have a concussion. You're now in 10th grade. You haven't had a seizure at all, so you're probably not going to have for the rest of your life. If you have a mild concussion, then your risk for a seizure remains higher than the normal population for 5 years (with most seizures coming the first 2 years). However, the aeromedically acceptable risk for mild isn't at 5 years. I haven't memorized the policy or the numbers, but I think the aeromedical acceptable risk for sudden incapacitation due to a seizure is less than 1 year. In other words, depending on the service, you may be qualified to fly in less than 1 year after a mild concussion. I do know the waiting period is 2 years for the USN after a mild concussion.

If you get into a Service Academy and want to fly but had a history of concussion, there's a decent chance you'll be allowed to fly. By getting into a Service Academy you needed good grades and ACT/SAT scores, served in leadership positions, participated in sports, etc... so you've demonstrated you've had no cognitive effects/deficits.

These are just plain, vanilla concussions though. Throw in extra stuff that can occur with a concussion like bleeds inside your brain, skull fractures, prolonged loss of consciousness, abnormal EEG, and post-concussion syndrome, then all bets are off.

DS had a whiplash-type concussion while playing basketball 4 years ago, returned to Dr. 4 weeks later due to neck tension and headaches, diagnosis on records is PCS and he did physical therapy for 4 weeks before cleared. He is in the waiver process, AMI for MRI and neurology consult. You said all bets are off if PCS. Can you tell me why that disqualifies a candidate? Not questioning the decision, just wondering what is the assessed risk?

 

[MullenLE]

liv68 = The thread you are commenting on was from Mar 2019