By Ashton Horn
Through their lives, the majority of people will suffer from ear, nose, and throat problems that can extend from minor annoyances to major life threatening processes. Individuals who suffer from hearing loss and other ailments, as a result of ear, nose, and throat problems, wonder what can be done to help with, prevent, or even cure their symptoms.
Suffering from ear, nose, and throat troubles can be harrowing and traumatic for almost anyone, but especially for children. Sometimes children may suffer from recurrent ear infections, tonsillitis, and even airway obstruction due to enlarged tonsils/adenoids, which can result in poor growth, stress on the heart, poor performance in school, and behavioral problems. Dr. Siva Elangovan wants people to know that care for individuals, and especially children, does not have to be as difficult as one may expect. Dr. Elangovan states, “When doctors and facilities provide great care, with clarity and efficiency it helps the families and children have a much smoother process and faster return to everyday life. Children are extremely resilient, and great care helps them bounce back that much quicker, and that is extremely gratifying.”
Dr. Elangovan ensures that several preventative and reconstructive measures can be taken in order to assist with, and even cure some ailments. He states, “This field has come so far since the beginning. It used to be that all surgery was general surgery. General surgery expanded into different branches of surgery, including EENT, or eyes, ears, nose, and throat, which later became focused to ENT, or ears, nose, and throat.” Even in the last decade, Otolaryngology has expanded. Dr. Elangovan states, “Otolaryngology has flourished with multiple new techniques such as balloon sinus surgery, the use of lasers and even robots to address diseases of the sinus, larynx nose, ears, and throat.”
Hearing loss in children and other individuals as a result of suffering from chronic ear infections and other ear diseases does not always have to be permanent. Dr. Elangovan says, “As a specialty we can reconstruct the middle ear hearing bones, route sound from a bad ear to a good one, and in the most severe cases of deafness use a cochlear implant. The solutions all depend on the type of hearing loss that occurs in the individual. Sometimes it is congenital, environmental, or a combination. Either way, it is such a great field to be in when we can do so much to improve the lives of children and people of all age groups. It is extremely fulfilling to see someone smile when they hear sound for the first time or after regaining hearing after many years.” Although the field of Otolaryngology has expanded into various branches that can assist, prevent, and cure many difficulties in individuals, Dr. Elangovan believes the future holds even more promise for improvement and expansion.
For more information about Dr. Elangovan, or the field of Otolaryngology, call Heartland ENT in Moline, Illinois, at 309-762-5560, and visit their website at www.heartlandqc.com.
Photo by Mark Hancock Photography