If you have children or know someone who does, then you know they get sick from time to time. What you might think is simply a small cold–which it very well might be–can very easily turn into something a great deal more difficult, leading, perhaps, to something quite a bit more serious.
Common ent problems could progress to sinus infections, hearing loss, or even vocal cord paralysis, in rare cases. Every five out of six children born will have one or more ear infections by the time they have their third birthday cake. For 50 to 60% of children with hearing loss, the responsibility falls to their genes. Some things just run in the family.
Snoring is very common in children. More common than we might initially think. When we think about snoring, we often picture an older man falling asleep in his favorite chair or somewhere similar, but, it is actually prevalent in about 12% of children in general.
The cleft lip and cleft palate used to be a birth defect that would ostracize a child from infancy throughout their entire lives. A simple, minor problem of development was, for centuries, seen as a mark of inferiority, labeling the individual as someone who was less than, somehow cursed of God even before birth. Thankfully, a relatively simple surgery no corrects those issues, restoring hope, confidence, and joy to the lives of many children throughout the world.
Similarly, vocal cord paralysis is a situation from which many children who suffer can now get appropriate treatment. Vocal cord paralysis is a condition where one of the vocal cords, or sometimes both of the vocal cords, can’t move. This typically happens when the nerve impulses to the vocal cords are interrupted for one reason or another.
When vocal cord paralysis occurs, there is a gap between the vocal cords. This gap between the vocal cords referred to as the glottic gap can impact a child’s ability to speak and even breathe. If this condition worsens, vocal cord paralysis can lead to a breathy, weak voice; a weak cry, if it occurs in babies; an aspiration of fluids into the trachea; and noisy breathing, otherwise known as stridor.
An ear, nose, and throat specialist is the one who can help you understand everything you need to know about ent issues.
