You might see an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor for recurring sinus infections.
uncertain
You → see → infections
Someone else might see one for a thyroid tumor, a voice that won’t return after a cold, or trouble breathing during sleep.
uncertain
that → see → sleep
They’re all within an ENT’s purview.
asserted
They → ’re → purview
These doctors, formally called otolaryngologists, treat conditions involving the ears, nose, throat, and much of the head and neck.
asserted
doctors → call → head
That includes problems affecting your hearing, swallowing, breathing, and voice—and some that require urgent care.
asserted
that → include → care
“A lot of people will think, ‘Oh yeah, there’s no emergencies at ENT,’ and there absolutely are,” says Dr. Ryan Salvador, an ENT surgeon at Sinus & Snoring Specialists in Austin.
asserted
Salvador → think → Austin
We asked three otolaryngologists what they wish patients wouldn’t ignore.
asserted
patients → ask → what
Sudden hearing loss in one ear
You answer your phone and realize you can barely hear your friend’s voice out of your left ear.
asserted
you → answer → ear
Switch to your right side, and everything sounds normal.
asserted
everything → switch → side
It’s tempting to assume the muffled ear needs to pop, Salvador says.
asserted
Salvador → ’ → ?
One possibility is sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which affects the inner ear.
asserted
which → affect → ear
Salvador knows how easily it can be mistaken for something else: His father went to urgent care and was told he had fluid behind his eardrum.
asserted
he → know → eardrum
By the time he saw an ENT, about eight weeks had passed.
asserted
he → see → ENT
“He’s completely deaf in that ear now,” Salvador says.
asserted
Salvador → ’ → ear
An ENT can examine the ear and arrange a hearing test to find out what’s causing the loss.
asserted
what → examine → loss
If it is sudden sensorineural hearing loss, steroids may help—but, as Salvador puts it, “the earlier the better.”
uncertain
Salvador → help → it
Seek medical care immediately if you suddenly lose hearing, even if your ear just feels full or you’ve recently had a cold.
asserted
you → seek → cold
A neck lump that doesn’t hurt
You might discover it while shaving, when your razor passes over a spot that suddenly isn’t smooth.
uncertain
that → hurt → spot
Or perhaps you notice an unfamiliar bump in the mirror.
asserted
you → notice → mirror
Because it doesn’t hurt, you decide it can’t be that serious.
asserted
it → hurt → ?
Dr. Arnbjorn Toset, the director of head and neck surgery at Good Samaritan University Hospital and Catholic Health in New York, hears that reasoning from patients: “Doctor, it’s not hurting me.
asserted
it → hear → me
I don’t have any symptoms.”
asserted
I → have → symptoms
But pain isn’t a reliable way to judge a neck lump.
asserted
pain → judge → lump
Dr. Shaun Desai, chair of otolaryngology at New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center in New York, recalls a medical student who assumed his lump was related to a cold.
asserted
lump → recall → cold
“For eight months he sat on this lump in his neck,” Desai says.
asserted
Desai → sit → neck
It turned out to be a salivary gland tumor.
asserted
It → turn → ?
If a new lump has no clear explanation or is still there after two weeks, make an appointment.
asserted
lump → have → appointment
A sore throat that keeps getting worse
A sore throat is hardly unusual.
asserted
throat → keep → throat
One that progresses from “this hurts” to “I can barely swallow” is another matter.
asserted
I → progress → ?
Salvador pays particular attention when the pain keeps worsening and you’re also having trouble opening your mouth or your voice sounds muffled.
asserted
voice → pay → mouth
“You talk like you’ve got a hot potato in your mouth,” he says.
asserted
he → talk → mouth
Those changes can signal an abscess—a pocket of pus that forms around a tonsil.
asserted
that → signal → tonsil
“These can be life threatening,” Salvador says.
asserted
Salvador → threaten → ?
If swelling makes it difficult to breathe, seek emergency care.
asserted
it → make → care
Worsening throat pain with trouble swallowing, opening your mouth, or speaking normally also warrants prompt evaluation.
asserted
pain → worsen → evaluation
Your partner says you stop breathing at night
Your partner hears you snoring.
asserted
you → say → night
After a pause, you gasp and start breathing again.
asserted
you → gasp → pause
By morning, you may have no idea it happened.
uncertain
it → have → idea
The snoring may be what your partner complains about.
uncertain
partner → complain → what
Desai wants to know about the silence.
asserted
Desai → want → silence
…and 72 more, not listed.
The Aporia
