Otorhinolaryngology. No, we didn’t just make that word up. It’s a specialised medical profession that deals with ear, nose and throat disorders – often shortened to ENT specialist.
ENT specialists are great at many things outside of shortening impossible-to-pronounce words too. To give you an idea, we’ve compiled some of the best reasons for you to visit.
Hearing Loss
If headphones feel too quiet or voices start becoming indistinct, it’s a good idea to visit an ENT provider to get some advice. Causes can range from quick fixes, like an earwax removal, to more harmful symptoms, such as ruptured eardrums. Getting a consultation quickly can massively reduce the risk of long-term damage.
Ringing Ears
A ringing sound in your ears, commonly known as tinnitus, is a recurrent noise lasting more than five minutes and occurring multiple times a week. Everyone is prone to brief episodes of ringing ears, but constant or recurrent ringing is a sign of a deeper issue. There is no cure for tinnitus, but it can be made entirely manageable, or even imperceptible, with the help of an ENT provider.
Dizziness
Outside of hearing, your ears are also responsible for a pseudo-sense: your sense of balance. This means that when something’s wrong with your ears, you may experience dizziness or vertigo. This typically happens when calcium crystals are dislodged from your inner ear.
Getting it fixed early prevents a minor issue from spiralling out of control, which is why we’d recommend seeking out your local audiologist Poole quickly, such as https://www.imperialhearing.com/audiologist-near-me/poole.
Sleep Apnoea
Moving on from the ears, sleep apnoea is a serious condition where you repeatedly stop breathing whilst asleep. This is typically noticed through loud, strained snoring or frequently waking up breathless. ENT providers typically do a sleep study to ascertain whether you have sleep apnoea and can tailor a treatment plan to you.
Tonsillitis
Inflamed tonsils – the round tissue at the back of the throat – can cause difficulty swallowing and frequent soreness. Treatments vary from surgery to medicine, which is why an accurate diagnosis from an ENT specialist is important.
