Ear, Nose, and Throat
Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgical Procedures
What Causes Chronic Ear, Nose, and Throat Infections?
Ear, nose, and throat infections occur in pathways that are closely linked within the body. Vital sensory organs in the face and neck help your body perform functions like hearing, smelling, tasting, eating, and breathing.
When someone experiences chronic ear, nose, and throat infections, harmful bacteria and germs may be building up and remaining inside the passageways of their head and neck to cause continual health problems. If an infection is allowed to worsen, the person may experience more severe breathing and hearing issues.
Symptoms of chronic ear, nose, and throat infections may include:
- Coughing
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness
- Ear pain
- Headaches
- Hearing loss
- Hoarseness
- Nosebleeds
- Runny nose
- Sinus pressure
- Smell loss
- Sneezing
- Snoring
- Sore throat
- Swollen glands
- Taste loss
- Tinnitus (hearing noises)
- Tonsil inflammation
If you're preparing for — or still trying to decide on — an ENT procedure, chat with us to find an ENT near you who can walk you through the options in plain terms and help you choose with confidence.
What is an ENT Doctor?
An ENT doctor, or otolaryngologist, preserves and protects some of the most precious sensory abilities in the human body: hearing, smelling, tasting, eating, and breathing. Anyone who’s ever lost their voice for a day or struggled to hear someone clearly can appreciate what it would be like to lose any function in these treasured senses.
ENT doctors don’t just help people recover from throat and respiratory infections, although this is a major role of doctors in the field. They also support patients’ hearing, swallowing, speech, breathing, and balance. The goal is to restore health when a patient has experienced physical trauma, a virus, an infection, or another type of threat to their ears, nose, and throat.
Many ENT doctors perform crucial surgeries and procedures that involve preventing snoring, clearing the sinuses, resolving allergies, managing head/neck cancers, restoring hearing, and healing skin damage. Some ENT doctors perform delicate surgical procedures in the head or neck that lead to tremendous relief of ongoing symptoms.
Reasons You Might Need an ENT
Wondering if you need to visit an ENT? Here are 6 common issues that bring people to ENTs for consultations.
1. Persistent Ear Infections
One of the most common reasons to visit an ENT is experiencing an ear infection that won’t go away. Up to 330 million people experience ear infections every year. Chronic ear infections can be the result of continued swelling and fluid buildup in the ears after an original incident of fighting off a virus or having an allergy flare-up. An ENT can provide more insight into what’s happening in your ears and how to treat it.
2. A Chronically Clogged Nose
Does your nose always feel clogged or stuffy? You may have sinusitis from an infection, virus, polyp, or deviated septum, which is a deformity or injury inside the nasal passages. Infections are generally considered chronic when symptoms persist beyond three months, but you don’t have to wait that long to make an appointment with an ENT doctor.
3. Dizziness or Balance Problems
Problems with the inner ear and other body systems can cause balance problems, including dizziness and vertigo. Vertigo is the sensation of spinning even when you’re standing still. An ENT doctor can help you get to the root cause behind problems with feeling off-balance.
4. Hearing Loss or Ringing in the Ears
Another common reason for an ENT visit is partially losing your hearing or experiencing tinnitus, which is a sensation of hearing a ringing, buzzing, or humming sound. The causes of these issues can be wide-ranging and complex, so an ENT doctor’s expert insight can be an essential step in relieving your symptoms.
5. Swollen Throat or Glands
If you have a chronically raw or painful throat, or if your throat glands are persistently swollen, you’ll need an ENT doctor to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Their examination can illuminate what’s happening inside your body and determine whether you might have a condition like tonsillitis or even cancer. A swollen or sore throat accompanied by unexplained weight changes, fever, night sweats, or serious breathing problems should be evaluated as quickly as possible.
6. Snoring and Sleep Apnea
When someone finds themselves constantly sleepy or their sleeping is interrupted by snoring, an ENT doctor can help. Almost half of all U.S. adults snore and millions of people have a serious condition known as sleep apnea. There are many treatment options for snoring and sleep apnea, so reach out to an ENT doctor to discuss how to relieve your symptoms.
What to Expect at Your First ENT Visit
When you meet your ENT doctor, they’ll ask questions about your health history and get to know your lifestyle and current health conditions. You’ll also have a physical examination that allows the doctor to see what’s happening on the inside and outside of your body.
The ENT doctor typically uses an otoscope to look inside your ears and they may use a tongue depressor and/or a light to get a better look at your throat. If necessary, they might recommend tests or imaging studies that provide more information. ENT doctors’ initial visits are safe and noninvasive.
Common ENT Procedures
Turbinate Reduction
A turbinate reduction cleanses and restores small structures inside the nose. It’s an outpatient procedure that usually takes less than 10 minutes.
Eustachian Tube Dilation
Eustachian tube balloon dilation helps clear structures that connect the middle ear to the throat. This is a minimally-invasive procedure that typically provides effective relief.
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Endoscopic sinus surgery is an outpatient procedure performed under general anesthesia that addresses chronic sinus problems like sinus infections and nasal polyps.
Balloon Sinus Dilation
In a balloon sinus ostial dilation, a tiny balloon is inflated to open and inspect the sinuses. This procedure can be performed in an office setting, like an ENT doctor’s office, or an operating room.
Possible ENT Procedure Complications You Should Know About
Although severe surgical complications with ENT procedures are rare, they’re always a possibility. Here are the main potential complications to keep in mind.
- Anesthesia reactions
- Bleeding
- Bruising
- Deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism
- Discharge
- Discomfort
- Failure to improve symptoms
- Need for follow-up procedures
- Numbness
- Palsy/weakness
- Scarring
- Secondary infection
- Surgical trauma
- Swelling
- Temporary sensory loss