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Kolb writes about severe effects of concussions

'The ringing is like someone shooting a shotgun right next to my ear,' wrote former Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Bills quarterback Kevin Kolb throws to a receiver in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Landover, Md. (Richard Lipski/AP)
Bills quarterback Kevin Kolb throws to a receiver in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Landover, Md. (Richard Lipski/AP)Read more

IF THE NFL needs more research on concussions it should talk with former Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, who was diagnosed with four during his 6-year career.

In a first-person account for Monday Morning Quarterback, Kolb - who retired last year after four seasons with the Birds and two with the Cardinals - wrote that he suffers daily from his brain injuries.

"The ringing is like someone shooting a shotgun right next to my ear, every second of every day," he wrote. "It doesn't go away."

Kolb suffered his first concussion in the 2010 season opener against the Packers. His last came in a preseason game with Buffalo against the Redskins on Aug. 24, 2013 - his 29th birthday.

"With concussions, sometimes you don't know what is a symptom and what is not," he wrote. "But some symptoms are impossible to ignore. The sensitivity to light also has a profound impact. I'll be in a business meeting indoors and have to politely ask to put on my sunglasses before the headaches and double vision start.

"But I can deal with those symptoms. The short-term memory loss is more difficult. Sometimes I don't know if I'm just busy with a very full schedule and that's why I can't remember everything, or if it's a concussion symptom."

Despite his suffering, Kolb said he's not bitter.

"Even with these issues, which I know I will have my whole life, I can truly say my life after football doesn't feel incomplete. That starts with my relationship with God. I believe there's a purpose to everything that has happened to me . . . Just when things could have gotten tough, I had to dig deep and ask, 'OK, where is He taking me now?' So many good things have happened to me, it's impossible for me not to think I'm taken care of.

"I love to fish, hunt and play golf. When I retired I thought I'd be in paradise since I could do those activities every day. You quickly realize that's not paradise."