The Ear, Nose, and Throat Examination
If you have not had an examination at an Ear-Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic before, you will be glad to know that it is not painful and usually lasts for only a few minutes. Instruments and materials used are either sterilized or single-use.
The typical ENT examination initially covers the ears, the nose and the throat, and is done with the help of a headlight. The ears are examined with a small funnel, which is called ear speculum. If there is need for a detailed examination, the examination microscope is used. Measurements of the hearing and evaluation of other functions of the ear are carried out with specialized equipment in the Audiology and Neuro-Otology Laboratory (Pure Tone Audiogram, Speech Audiogram, Otoacoustic Emissions, Tympanogram and Acoustic Reflexes, Auditory Evoked Potentials, Electronystagmography).
The nose is examined by gently dilating the nostrils with a metallic nasal speculum. When needed, nasal endoscopy with a thin rigid telescope provides access to hidden corners of the inside of the nose, and much more detail under magnification. When olfaction needs to be evaluated, this is done with the Sniffin’ Sticks® test. Allergy Skin Prick Tests are an important examination in the diagnostic approach of chronic rhinitis.
The throat is examined with the help of a wooden, single-use sterile tongue depressor. If examination of the voice box is needed, we can either use the traditional laryngeal mirrors, or (more commonly) do laryngeal endoscopy with a rigid or flexible telescope. Laryngeal Stroboscopy is a special endoscopic examination, used in specific cases of laryngeal pathology, where simple endoscopy is not enough. If the examination of the larynx is unpleasant for the patient, the throat is sprayed with an anaesthetic solution. In specific cases of pathology of the vocal cords, we perform a Voice Study.
When symptoms suggest possible reflux disease, we can perform 24-hour monitoring of the acidity at the throat, with a special thin catheter.
In cases where loud snoring needs evaluation for possible sleep apnea, we can do a full sleep study (sleep polysomnography) in a specially organised room in our premises.