A tool to help you document your blast exposures and decide whether to talk to a doctor.
Please read first. This is not a medical diagnosis and not a medical device. It records your blast exposure and symptoms so you can talk them over with a doctor or the VA. It cannot tell you whether you have a TBI, and a low score is not an all-clear.
What this is. It documents how much blast overpressure your service history adds up to — an organized record to talk through with your doctor. It is not a diagnosis.
Why it matters. Repeated blast exposure — even below an obvious injury — is linked to higher rates of TBI, headaches, ringing in the ears and hearing loss, sleep problems, mood changes, and PTSD. Effects can be real even when a cognitive test is normal, so a low score is not an all-clear.
What to do next:
Bring this report and your exposure history to your VA provider or doctor.
Say clearly you had repeated blast exposure in service — name the sources (breaching, heavy weapons, IEDs, artillery).
Ask about a TBI screening / evaluation and current VA blast-overpressure resources.
If you file or update a VA claim, mention blast exposure specifically.
Any per-event TBI probability shown later is an unvalidated research model — not a diagnosis and not for clinical decisions. The credible parts are your exposure record and the symptom screen.
In crisis right now? Veterans Crisis Line: call 988, then press 1, or text 838255. Available 24/7.
For personal use only. This tool is for veterans documenting their own service history. Commercial or third-party claim-preparation use is prohibited. Organizations: email support@continuumimprovement.com for licensing.
Document your service blast-exposure history to discuss with your doctor or the VA
Need to reach the VA?
Reach any VA medical center:1-800-698-2411 — tell them your ZIP or city and ask to be connected to your nearest VA. This line reaches every VA facility.
You don't need to remember any blast events to use this — just start here. Rate how much each symptom has bothered you in the past month: 0 = not at all, 4 = very severe. These are the symptoms documented in blast-exposed service members. The screen is built on the domains of the VA's Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) — the instrument the VA uses in its own TBI evaluation.
These symptoms are not specific to TBI — tap to read
They overlap heavily with PTSD, depression, sleep, hearing, and chronic-pain conditions. A high score does not mean you have a brain injury; it means these symptoms are worth a medical evaluation. This is a screen modeled on the NSI domains — not the validated NSI itself, and not a diagnosis. Bring it to your doctor or the VA and ask for a TBI evaluation. If you’re struggling, you’re not alone — Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then 1, or text 838255.
Next, if you can, add any blast events you remember in Step 2 below — but the symptoms above are the most important part.
Your exposure summary
Total blast exposures
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Cumulative exposure burden
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Eardrum risk
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⚠ Apnea-level exposure
At least one of your blasts was strong enough that apnea — a temporary stop in breathing caused by disruption of the brainstem — is possible at this level. Apnea is a sign of serious brain injury.
Apnea can be fatal without prompt medical attention, but it is survivable with an airway and rapid care — which is why many who experience it at the scene recover. If you survived a blast this severe, that does not mean the brain injury didn't happen.
If you, or anyone who was with you, remembers loss of consciousness, stopped or struggling breathing, or needing to be revived right after a blast — tell your doctor. It is an important marker of severe blast brain injury.
⚠ Lung-injury-level exposure
At this overpressure, primary blast lung injury — lung collapse (pneumothorax), pulmonary hemorrhage, and breathing failure (apnea) — becomes likely. The lung is the organ that kills at these levels, and severe brain injury is essentially certain.
Did you receive treatment for a collapsed lung or breathing failure after a blast? If you survived an exposure this strong, you most likely required emergency care. Tell your doctor — it marks a severe, potentially life-threatening blast exposure.
Step 2 — Blast events you remember — optional
Don't remember most or all of your blast exposures? That's extremely common, and it doesn't mean your exposure didn't matter. You can skip this step — the symptom screen above is the most important part, and it works from what you're experiencing now.
Gunfire presets match peak overpressure at ~0.9 m (shooter's head); set Incidents = rounds fired. Muzzle blast differs from a detonation — use for relative TBI comparison, not the lung/impulse endpoint. Breaching presets use a representative net-explosive-weight at a typical breacher stand-off — actual charge size and position vary, so adjust the kg/distance to your scenario.
Measured overpressure → TNT equivalent
Per-event & cumulative risk
Per-event TBI estimates — research model
⚠ No validated human dose-response exists for blast overpressure → TBI grade. This chart is an unvalidated research estimate — not a diagnosis or a clinical tool.