An ENT Specialist is a physician who is trained to treat ear nose throat disorders as well as their related structures in the area of head and neck; the treatment can be either by drugs or by surgery. In other words, the ear nose and throat doctor can treat problems in the ears, nose, sinuses, nasal passage, larynx, throat (upper pharynx), and their related structures in the neck and face. It is worth mentioning that ear, nose, and throat specialty is one of the most ancient medical practices in the United States of America.  

The first priority of the ear nose throat specialist is curing the ear problems, this usually covers cases of ear infections (acute or chronic), balance problems, hearing diseases, disorders of the facial (cranial) nerve, and inherited cancerous problems of the auditory system.

Another important skill for ENT doctor is caring of the nose, nasal passages, paranasal sinuses, smell sensation, nasal breathing, allergic nasal reactions, and cosmetic appearance of the nose.

Regarding the throat problems, an ENT specialist is trained to care for the disorders of the larynx, vocal cords, esophageal area, as well as the swallowing mechanism.  

Within the area of head and neck, an ear nose throat doctor must be skilled in curing infectious diseases, cancers (either benign or malignant), traumatic injuries in the face, and facial deformities. He/she can easily perform all types of surgeries; plastic and reconstructive.

There are seven main areas of specialty for an ENT doctor, which usually include:

 Otology: this type of ENT specialty includes the treatment of the ear problems, including trauma and cancers of the outer, middle and inner ears; it is also concerned with nerve course that influences the hearing as well as balance.

Pediatric Otolaryngology: Curing of the ear, nose and throat problems in kids, either medically or surgically.

Area of Head and Neck: Treatment of the tumors, either benign or malignant, in the areas of head, neck, thyroid and parathyroid glands.

Reconstructive and plastic Surgery of the face: Treating the cosmetic and functional problems of the face.

Rhinology: Curing the sinus and nasal problems, either by drugs or surgery

Laryngology: The treatment of larynx (voice box) disorders.

Allergic reactions: Treating different types of allergies affecting the upper respiratory tract, and causing difficulty in breathing.

First aid for a foreign object stuck in the ear canal:

-          Try to calm the affected person or child

-          If you can see the object clearly at the beginning of the ear canal, try to remove the object with your hands or by using medical tweezers.

-          If the object is tinny and stuck within the ear canal, or you can’t see it, avoid trying to push the tweezers deep inside the ear canal to avoid injuring the auditory system. Wait for the medical help

-          You can use the effect of gravity by tilting the head towards the affected ear and shaking the head slightly facing of the ground.

First aid to remove an insect from the ear:

-          Always prevent the affected person from inserting his/ her finger in the ear to avoid the insect’s sting

-          Make the affected ear facing upwards and wait for some time, as maybe the insect will get out of the ear and flies away, if not, pour some olive oil in the ear canal, and pull the ear lobe of the affected ear gently upwards and backwards, this will be enough to kill the insect and make it float.

-          Seek for medical help immediately, as the left remaining parts of the insect will cause irritation of the ear canal

First aid for perforated eardrum:

You need to know that the affected person will be in agony, all you can do is placing a clean sterile cotton pellet in the beginning of the ear canal to keep the area clean. Seek for medical help as soon as possible.

First aid for wounds in the outer ear:

-          With a clean cotton, press on the wound gently and firmly until the blood stops  

-          Put a dressing on the wound

-          Use cold fomentation over the dressing to minimize pain and edema

-          If a partof the outer ear is torn off , keep this part in ice wrapped in a clean piece of cloth and search for medical help at once.

Noises or sounds that can lead to the destruction of the hearing system within the inner ear are several, but they commonly include; explosions, gunshots, and  prolonged exposure to very loud machinery or music.

There are two main symptoms for acoustic trauma:

- Partial hearing loss, which mainly involves sounds with high frequency. This condition starts gradually and gets worse with time.

- Tinnitus or ringing in the ears

In the majority of cases, a physician or ENT doctor will expect having an acoustic trauma after the exposure to very loud noises. The Audiometry test can be performed to determine the extent of hearing loss.

Unfortunately, the loss of hearing can’t be treated, and mostly it is permanent. Usually, the aim of treatment is protecting the auditory system from further destruction. Defiantly, repairing the damaged ear drums will be required. The communication of the affected person can be enhanced by utilizing hearing aids and learning lip reading.

Complete hearing loss and tinnitus are the worst complications of acoustic trauma. This can be prevented by following simple measures, including:

- Protecting the ears from loud noises by wearing earmuffs or ear plugs

-Avoiding the prolonged listening to extremely loud music

-Being cautious when working in the areas of shooting guns, airports, construction, mines and explosions.

In order to prevent and treat mild cases of sinus infection, you don’t necessarily need to go to the doctor, especially if you’re having sensible sinuses. Keep in mind that this isn’t the case if your symptoms are severe and you haven’t get rid of the infection in a couple of days.

Mild sinus infection prevention and treatment tips:

If you’re suffering from a mild case of sinus infection, then you can use nasal drops to reduce the swelling and inflammation of your sinuses. To prevent a sinus infection, you can use nasal drops when the weather outside is cold or you’ve been exposed to cold air. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t continue the treatment for more than two days.

Also, make sure to keep a constant humidity in the room.  There are a number humidifiers on the market that can help you do just that, so, if you’re prone to having sinus problems, then using a humidifier in your room or bedroom is recommended.

It’s needless to say that bacteria and viruses cause sinus infections. So, you can use a nasal wash on a daily basis to prevent any sinus infection.

These are just a few tricks that you can use, but keep in mind that if the symptoms don’t disappear in a couple of days, and they seem to be getting worse you need to consult a doctor immediately!

Malfunction of the Eustachian tube will result in the creation of a negative pressure on the area of the middle ear; this will press on the tympanic membrane causing its pulling towards the middle ear, forming a tongue like projection or a cyst that will be filled mostly by the dead skin cells and other debris. When an infection occurs in this cyst, the size of the cyst will start growing and eroding the bones of the middle ear as well as other parts of the auditory system.

Definitely, this will cause partial or complete hearing loss, loss of balance, and poor functioning of the muscles of the face.

Cholesteatoma symptoms include; dizziness, ear discharge, and loss of hearing in the affected ear.

CT scan or an ear exam can easily show the cyst or the opening in the eardrum. Electronystagmography is a test that is used in examining the function of the acoustic nerve, which starts from the brain towards the ears; this test is usually used to determine the causes of dizziness.

The complications of Cholesteatomas are very dangerous including the formation of a brain abscess, deafness of the affected, vertigo, facial paralysis, meningitis, labyrinthitis, chronic drainage from the ear, and brain cysts.

Surgery is the only treatment for Cholesteatoma, as it is very important to excise the formed cyst or pocket.

The good news is that most cases of Cholesteatoma can be avoided by the complete and rapid treatment for the recurrent ear infections

Middle Ear infection Symptoms

There isn’t a lot of discomfort associated with this infection, but the symptoms that indicate that the person is suffering from Otitis Media are irritability, fever, loss in appetite and loss of balance.

This middle ear infection is usually caused by allergies, bacteria and viruses. However it has been shown that smoking can lead to Otitis due to the fact that smoking leads to increased mucus secretion which blocks the Eustachian tubes.

Untreated middle ear infection can lead to hearing loss, ear drum perforations and tissue damage in the middle ear.

Middle ear infection treatment

The regular treatment for middle ear infection is antibiotics that cure any infection within three months or less.

If the person experiences hearing loss or multiple infections then ear tubes can be used. These reduce hearing loss that’s caused by excessive fluid in the ear drum. Their insertion is an easy and painless procedure.

So, to prevent any complications, if you or your child experiences any of the symptoms outlined above, consult your doctor swiftly.

Nevertheless, discharges from the ear might be caused due to minimal inflammations or infections. A perforated ear drum can result in white tinged with blood or yellowish drainage from the ear. In children, the detection of a dry crust on the pillow often indicates a perforated ear drum.

There is a myriad range of causes for blood from the ear, including; traumatic injury to the ear canal, strange bodies inserted in the ear canal, and malignancy.

Generally, the causes of ear discharge are; eczema or dermatitis in the ear canal, chronic otitis externa, otitis externa due to cancers, chronic otitis media, infection of the mastoid bone of the skull behind the ear (Mastoiditis), trauma or injury to the head, severe sudden changes in the surrounding pressure (as in high altitudes or in the aeroplanes) that cause the perforation of the ear drum, hearing extremely loud voices, and developing a swimmer’s ear.

To avoid suffering from ear drainage, there are some simple home care treatments, which start by simply never to insert foreign objects smaller than your little finger tip in your ears.

The best treatment for infection in the ear can be prescribed by your physician; mostly this treatment will be ear drops.

To remove the excess ear wax, flush your ears gently with warm water in a syringe (which is available over the counter). Always avoid using sharp objects in removing packed down wax in ears.

Always seek for medical assistance in case of head injury, wounds from sharp bodies, pressure changes, noise changes, and blood coagulation problems.

The good news is that a perforated ear drum can be healed spontaneously with time; it takes only few weeks to heal in kids.  During the process of healing
of ruptured ear drums, taking antibiotics will decrease the possibility of suffering from further infections.

Cure #1: Prevention

It’s easier to prevent earache than to cure. In this case, it’s recommended that you avoid extremely loud noises, use ear plugs when swimming and avoid really cold temperatures (or protect your ears). Naturally, it’s equally important to clean your ears frequently to prevent any bacterial buildup or wax buildup in your ears.

Cure #2: Home Remedies

There are lots of remedies that can be home made when it comes to earache. You can use garlic juice as ear drops to treat earache and you can also use peeled garlic cloves (you need to insert them in your ear canal). These two options are the best because they’re handy, cheap and highly effective!

Cure #3: Medication

Of course, if neither of the solutions presented above worked, then you can always turn to medication to treat your earache. In this case, Ibuprofen and Tylenol are great because they are pain killers that will make the ache go away instantly. It can be helpful to use a decongestant as well if you earache is the result of a common cold.

As you can see, it’s quite easy to treat earache if you know how, but most importantly, you always need to prevent first!

What can cause dermatitis of the ear?

Usually, this condition is hereditary, but, it can also be the result of chemical exposure to various formulations – that’s why ear dermatitis is frequent in swimmers. Of course, some shampoos, conditioners and soaps can also cause this condition.

Dermatitis of the ear presents itself with very dry and itchy scaly skin around the ears. Due to frequent scratching, this can become easily infected, so, no matter how itchy this condition can be, scratching is not recommended.

How can ear drops help?

Today, bacterial ear drops are the most effective treatment for the dermatitis of the ear. There are lots of brands you can choose, but you should know that the best ear drops for this condition need to have an antibiotic and hydrocortisone solution in them in order to be effective.

Why are ear drops so effective? Because the dermatitis of the ear is caused by a bacteria, and bacteria responds really well to antibiotics and hydrocortisone.

Of course, it’s recommended that before you go to the pharmacy and purchase ear drops to treat your condition, to always check with your doctor as he or she will recommend you the best treatment for your condition (sometimes oral antibiotics are also needed to treat dermatitis of the year).

There are common known reasons of ear pain, like glue ear, ear wax, ear infections, perforated ear drums….etc. Furthermore, there are some uncommon or unusual causes of ear pain, including:

-   Jaw and ear pain

Some people may suffer from problems in the joints of their jaw bones, especially in the area where the bones of the lower jaw (mandible) meet the skull. Most of these problems are caused due to arthritis or bruxism (teeth grinding).This type of pain is termed temperomandibular joint pain or TMJ pain.

- Abscessed tooth and ear pain

The typical dental abscess is formed when pus or other inflammatory fluids accumulate beneath the root of an affected tooth, and consequently become entrapped in the bones of the jaw. This is a very painful condition, it usually starts from the affected tooth area and radiates to remote areas like the ears causing earaches. As most of the dental abscesses are caused due to bacterial infections for badly decayed teeth or necrotic
gums, then taking antibiotics for tooth abscess is a mandatory to combat this type of infection.

- An impacted tooth

An impacted wisdom tooth can cause severe ear ache. An impacted tooth is this tooth which is not fully erupted in the oral cavity, this means that a small part of it will show above the gingiva and another larger part will be embedded in the jaw bones, and pressing on the nerves supplying the jaw and the ear, therefore earache will occur.

- Trigeminal neuralgia or facial nerve pain

What is trigeminal neuralgia? A trigeminal neuralgia is a sudden sharp severe painful sensation occurring in the face due to pressure on one of the major nerves running in the skull bones. This severe pain can be felt in the areas of upper and lower jaws, in the eyes, in the ears, and in the area of the forehead. The attack of the trigeminal neuralgia can last from several seconds to a couple of minutes. Analgesics and pain killers are usually prescribed to alleviate the symptoms.

- Eczema in the area of ear canal

Seborrhoeic dermatitis is the type of eczema causing ear ache; it causes inflammation and irritation of the skin of the ears, and eruption of red scales. Thankfully, this condition can be easily treated with ear drops containing corticosteroids.

- Throat infection

Some types of throat infections, like tonsillitis or quinsy, can show earache as one of their symptoms. Quinsy is an abscess in the back of the throat.