1. A serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident: When falling down on the wet floor, Lynn experienced agony and physical trauma for quite some awhile.
2. An emotional wound or shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to the psychological development of a person: Mrs. Smith experienced a trauma when she suddenly lost her husband due to a skiing accident and she has also suffered from neurosis since then.
3. A situation or condition which produces extreme distress and disturbance: The disruption caused by the economic trauma of recession in the country was felt by all the people living there.

Trauma has both a medical and a psychiatric meanings:

• Medically, trauma refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock.
• In psychiatry, trauma has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical conditions.

4. Etymology: from Greek, trauma, "wound, damage". © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

The damage caused to the cochlear structures (parts of the inner ears known as the organs of hearing) by high-intensity sound stimulations (loud noises) that have demonstrable negative effects on hearing: Acoustic trauma is sometimes temporary in the initial stages, but it can result in permanent damage with the continued exposure to loud noises.

To avoid having acoustic trauma, people should wear protective ear plugs or ear-cover protectors to minimize damage to their ears when using loud equipment.

Everyone should be aware of risks of acoustic traumas that are connected with such activities as shooting guns, using chain saws, lawn mowers, driving motorcycles, or when using snowmobiles.

Another way of avoiding acoustic trauma is to refrain from listening to loud music for long periods of time.

Acoustic trauma can occur as a result of an individual's occupation, such as rock musicians, construction workers, airline ground crew members, or by using earphones and headphones, etc. with the volume turned up too much.

A noise induced hearing loss resulting from a brief exposure to an intense sound which is not considered to be the same as noise-induced hearing loss of workers who are exposed to a continuous noise in their occupations: "An auditory trauma may have happened to someone at an early age or just before the onset of tinnitus."

Injury to the vocal cords in the throat, whether accidental, as in a traffic accident; or iatrogenic, which is a complication resulting from some kind of medical treatment: "Laryngeal trauma of the woman's father came from damage that was caused by anesthesia and surgery that was being performed on his larynx or respiratory tract in his throat."

Injury to the periodontium caused by occlusal forces transmitted through a tooth: "Occlusal trauma is related to occlusions of the teeth; especially, the chewing or biting surfaces resulting in occlusal wear."

Physical injury to the fetus occurring at or about the time of birth; used especially with reference to cerebral birth trauma.

Trauma of a psychological nature rather than a physical one, or the stress resulting from fantasied or other non-physical threats.