Soldiers, particularly those involved in combat operations, are exposed to a continuous danger frequently resulting in various types of injuries, out of which the most common and serious is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Up to the second quarter of 2015, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center has recorded 333,169 cases of active soldiers affected with TBI. TBI can be defined as an injury that results from external force to the head and causes an alternation of loss of consciousness. The key symptoms of TBI comprise physical problems, sensory impairments, behavioral changes, cognitive disorders, communication difficulties, and swallowing disorders. The purpose of this study is to review available studies on TBI among active military personnel with special focus on communication disorders. The methods applied for this study include a method of literature review of both clinical and review studies relevant for the researched issue in the acknowledged databases and a method of comparison and evaluation of their findings. The findings show that the research studies exploring communication disorders among the active military personnel are rare. In addition, earlier diagnosis of TBI is needed as well as a multidisciplinary team intervention approach to the treatment of TBI.

Keywords: traumatic brain injury; military combat personnel; communication disorders; treatment