At-Home Treatments for Nasal Congestion
A stuffy nose is an annoying, distracting, and very common problem. Most of us get an occasional stuffy nose from viral infections (such as a cold), from allergies, or as a side-effect of pregnancy. Inflammation and swelling inside the nose make you feel stuffed up and uncomfortable. Mucus and drainage may also join the party….
How to Tackle (achoo) Spring Allergies
Seasonal allergies are no fun. Whether you’ve dealt with them since elementary school, or are just now discovering the sneezing, sniffling, congestion and itchy eyes for the first time as an adult, welcome to the club — every spring, 36 million in the U.S. grab a box of tissues and brace for the next six…
Protect Your Kids’ Ears with Hearing Protection
You want your kids to be safe and healthy … you brush their teeth, wrestle them into seatbelts, and use hand sanitizer like it’s going out of style. But what are you doing to protect their ears? Excess noise can hurt kids’ long-term hearing. Being exposed to everyday noises, such as listening to loud music,…
Don’t Blame the Vocal Cords: Tone Deafness and Singing
As anyone who’s watched an episode of American Idol knows, not everyone can sing. Some of us can carry a tune, and others … well … we’d better keep our day jobs. Tone deafness is the inability to hear and reproduce relative pitch — to pick up a sound with your ear, process it in…
Trickier Than you Think: Drinking More Water for a better ENT Health
Since middle-school health class, you’ve been told to drink eight glasses of water per day for better wellness. But many people find this hard to swallow — literally. Now, a new study may tell us why. Researchers have identified a brain mechanism that stops us from swallowing too much liquid when we are not thirsty….
The Challenges of Non-Hearing People
Whether you are an office worker, student, or cashier – your chances of interacting with a person who has hearing loss are pretty good. An estimated 15 percent of Americans (37.5 million) have it to some degree. As with many types of disabilities, you may feel nervous about how to approach a person that doesn’t…
Nasal Spray Long-Term Use: Is There Cause for Concern?
When you have a stuffy nose, a squirt or two of the right nasal spray can help you feel better. But even though many of these medicines are sold over-the-counter, you still need to know how to use them in order to avoid problems – and even damage to the inside of your nose. There…
The World at a Twirl: Dizziness and Your Health
Just moments before you were planted on solid ground, but now you seem to be standing upright on a tilt-a-whirl. Feelings of lightheadedness and vertigo can be unsettling – they can make your day less efficient, less pleasant, or sometimes cause it to come to a screeching halt. Problems with balance are not uncommon. Around…
Decibels and Keeping Your Ears Healthy
What do the following items have in common? All of these activities involve elevated decibel levels which can lead to hearing loss. Sound is measured in decibels and knowing how much noise can damage hearing is a good step to protect your ears. We only get one set of ears, so let’s keep them healthy….
What are Adenoids?
Ever wonder why tonsils and adenoids are sometimes removed at the same time? Or why sometimes just the tonsils are removed? Adenoids live in the upper area of the nasal cavity in the throat. A person can’t see their adenoids by looking into a mirror like with the tonsils. Doctors can examine the adenoids using…