Rough times for Jacob

Jacob has been going through a really hard time lately. For the last few weeks, when Jacob gets frustrated with something he hits his head either against the wall or the floor. We are pretty sure it is mainly because he still can't talk and we have a real communication barrier. So he doesn't know how else to let us know he is aggravated.

This past week hasn't helped. His mom who used to be his caregiver during the day can no longer care for him and no longer picks him up at all. He doesn't understand what is going on and he can't vocalize anything either.

Add in that he has some 2 year molars that are trying to come through and we have a very grouchy little guy here. A little guy who has been hitting his head against things a lot more often over the last week. From what I have read online, they say kids won't hit their head hard enough to really hurt themselves and that you just have to ignore it and they will stop.

Is this considered not really hurting himself?

Justin tried to put him down for a nap and instead of going to sleep he screamed. We didn't hear anything that sounded like he was hitting his head, but obviously he hit his head a number of times. After letting him not just cry but scream, Justin went to get him after 20 minutes and this is what he looked like.

Any suggestions on how to get our kid to stop hurting himself before he causes himself brain damage?