My mom has brain damage from anoxic brain injury,can she hear me?

Hello Anonymous,

Welcome to EmpowHER. I am truly sorry to hear about your mother's situation.

For the benefit of all our readers, anoxic brain damage is injury to the brain due to a lack of oxygen. Hypoxia is the term to describe low oxygen. Brain cells without enough oxygen will begin to die after about 4 minutes.

Severe damage may lead to a coma or a vegetative state. Mild-to-moderate hypoxic brain damage may cause:
Headache
Confusion
Decreased concentration and attention span
Mood swings and/or personality change
Intermittent loss of consciousness
Seizures
Poor coordination

Anonymous, how severe is the damage? Is your mother in a coma? Or is she recovering or has she recovered? To answer your question, it depends on her level of awareness.

Recovery from brain damage can be uncertain. It will also take time. Your chance for recovery depends on how long and how severely you were deprived of oxygen. Many people with mild brain damage can usually recover most of the lost functions.

In a groundbreaking Northwestern Medicine and Hines VA Hospital clinical study, neuroscientist Theresa Pape performed brain scans on 15 coma patients. The results of that study showed that when patients heard unfamiliar voices, brain scans showed little activity, but when they heard close relatives calling out their names or talking, the scans lit up.

"A very severely injured brain can be worked with and can be rehabilitated," Pape said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/northwestern-medicine-hines-va-hospital-study-reveals-if-coma-patients-can-hear/

Regards,
Maryann