Iran war renews concerns about lasting toll of traumatic brain injuries to American troops

Ben Finley, Associated Press Ben Finley, Associated Press Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When Joe Shearer was a Marine fighting in Iraq, a blast from an enemy mortar round knocked him down and made him vomit. He got up and kept going despite a searing headache. When a roadside bomb struck his Humvee convoy months later, the explosion's shock wave swept through his body before headaches and sleeplessness set in for days. "As long as you got back up and could go back on patrol, that's kind of what you did," he said. Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, links both events in 2005 to traumatic brain injuries, which were only recently diagnosed. He's still plagued with symptoms ranging from dizziness and migraines to forgetting daily tasks and responsibilities to his wife and children.

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Scoop News DeskIran · Published Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 6:17 PM UTCUpdated Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 7:16 PM UTC

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Most have experienced traumatic brain injuries and returned to duty, according to public statements from military officials. Neurologists prescribed medication for his migraines, among other treatments. "Speech therapy was one of the greatest things I had," added Sonntag, 75, of Queen Creek, Arizona. "They taught me how to practice the words I was speaking and how to put sentences together again." Kelly Parker, director of independent services at the Wounded Warrior Project, said it's hard to predict an injury's trajectory. "If you've seen one TBI, you've seen one TBI," she said.

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