Children's ENT / Pediatric ENT

ENT Medicine and the Young Patient

The ENT physician spends a large part of his or her time with pediatric ENT problems. Fortunately, pediatric illnesses are usually not really threatening diseases. However, acute ear pain can occur quite suddenly. This generally results from an incipient inflammation, which extends and irritates the eardrum through the course of an upper respiratory tract infection. Within minutes, a quietly sleeping child can become a heavily suffering child. Quick action is necessary here, also in controlling the pain with medication. Antibiotic treatment is by no means always necessary, as the cause is often viral. It is important to determine whether the cause is bacterial or viral. An undetected and untreated bacterial infection of the middle ear is a source of potential serious danger, with its close proximity to the brain.

Chronic ear infections in children are also of particular concern to us. Some children suffer under regularly recurring inflammation of the middle ear and throat. This can lead to temporary hearing loss through tympanic effusions, in which case acute pain may not necessarily be prevalent. The first measures to take are inhalation and naturopathic methods. If this treatment does not suffice, it must be determined which procedure is best to get proper ventilation of the middle ear, e.g. with a tympanostomy tube in combination with removal of the child's polyps, adenoidectomy, reduction of the tonsils (coblation tonsillotomy), or in rare instances, removal of the tonsils (tonsillectomy, or coblation tonsillectomy).

The idea of one's own child undergoing surgery is terrible for all parents. However, after exhausting all other options, these small surgical procedures present a great opportunity and cause hardly any strain on the child. An almost immediate cure of the ailment is possible with correct indication. Many parents, in retrospect, regret having taken a long time to decide on an intervention.