Children often get sick as it takes time for their immune system to develop and protect them from everyday bacteria and viruses. Whether it's an ear infection, cold, or cough, it’s important to have an ear, nose, and throat specialist as part of your child’s care team to keep them healthy.
While some illnesses may go away with time or with over-the-counter medication, your child can still benefit from seeing a specialist.
Here are a few ways a pediatric ENT can help your child:
Chronic Ear Infections
Hearing Loss, Speech, and Language Problems
Sinus Infections
Chronic Ear Infections
According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, five out of six children will have an ear infection by their third birthday. It’s also the most common reason why parents bring their child to a doctor. This happens because, during the first four years of a child’s life, their Eustachian tube is still developing which connects the middle ear to the back of the throat and is responsible for draining fluid and equalizing ear pressure in one’s ears. A child’s Eustachian tube is also shorter and straighter than an adult’s which makes it easier for fluids to become trapped there.
If your child suffers from chronic or recurring ear infections, a pediatric ENT can assess their symptoms and create the best treatment plan for their unique situation. It’s recommended that you take your child to a specialist if their symptoms worsen, last longer than three days, and or cause their hearing to be impacted.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help your child.
Hearing Loss, Speech, and Language Problems
There are a variety of factors that can cause your child to have speech problems such as a cleft palate, problems with their teeth, and hearing loss. The preferred specialist for your child is a pediatric ENT as they’ll be able to run the appropriate tests and find the potential causes of hearing loss or speech problems. They’ll also be able to monitor your child’s speech milestones and if their development is on track for their age.
Sinus Infections
Does your child often have a runny nose or congestion? These symptoms are common and can happen more often if they’re in school or at a daycare. While colds are viral infections that go away with time, they can sometimes lead to serious problems like sinus infections.
A sinus infection happens when fluids build up in your sinuses and causes bacteria to grow. If your child’s symptoms get worse after improving or last more than ten days, it’s recommended that you take your child to a specialist. Especially as sinus infections can lead to other severe illnesses such as vision problems or meningitis.
Let OAT Help Your Child
At OAT, we treat each and every child as if they were our own. We provide cutting-edge routine and specialty care for ear, nose, and throat disorders and diseases in children. Our practice has generations of experience treating the children of Middle Tennessee.
Whether your child suffers from tongue tie, chronic ear infections, tonsillitis, allergies, or hearing loss, we can help. OAT offers a wide range of in-office diagnostic tools and procedures and our board-certified specialists compassionately work with you and your child to find the right course of treatment.
We provide a full array of pediatric ear, nose, and throat services and treatments for the following:
Chronic or recurring ear infections
Ear tubes
Hearing screening and testing
Balance disorders
Diagnosis and treatment of pediatric sleep apnea
Tonsils and adenoids
Pediatric allergies
Pediatric sinusitis
Pediatric head and neck tumors
Speech and language disorders
Tongue tie
Swallowing disorders
Contact us today to learn more about our pediatric ENT services.
