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Test your knowledge of common ear, nose and throat disorders
and their treatment.
1. Cotton swabs are a safe and easy way to clean wax from inside
your ears.
Fiction!
Remember, never stick anything smaller than your elbow in your
ear! When you insert cotton-tipped applicators or tissues
in your ear, the wax is just pushed deeper into the ear canal.
When wax begins to block your ears (and hearing), seek medical
advice. Your doctor may remove the wax, or suggest special
wax-softening ear drops.
2. Reading in a moving car
can cause motion sickness (make you "car
sick").
Fact!
Motion sickness relates to your sense of balance and equilibrium.
Your sense of balance is maintained by a complex interaction
of your inner ears, eyes, skin pressure receptors, muscle
and joint sensory receptors, and the brain and spinal cord.
Motion sickness can appear when the central nervous system
receives conflicting messages from these four key bodily
systems. When you read a book in a moving car, your inner
ears and skin receptors detect the motion of travel, but
your eyes see only the pages of your book.
3. Hay fever is not caused by hay and does not
cause a fever.
Fact!
"Hay fever" is a commonly used
term for seasonal allergic rhinitis, which can produce such
symptoms as runny nose, itchy eyes and throat, uncontrollable
sneezing, and sometimes itching of the skin. Some people have
an over-active immune system which identifies normally harmless
particles, such as pollens or animal dander, as dangerous.
This causes an excessive reaction that actually causes inflammation
-- an allergy. The substances causing it are allergens.
4. Tonsils and adenoids filter bacteria out of
what we swallow and breathe.
Fiction!
Any filter that could strain out microscopic
material would not allow the passage of any food particles
and would make eating impossible. Tonsils and adenoids are
strategically located near the entrance to the breathing passages
where they catch incoming infections. They "sample" bacteria
and viruses and can become infected themselves. It is thought
that they then help form antibodies to those "germs" as
a part of the body's immune system to resist and fight future
infections.
5. A person can be trained or conditioned not
to snore.
Fiction!
Unfortunately, you have no conscious control over snoring.
More than 300 devices are registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office as cures for snoring, including head straps,
neck collars and mouth pieces. If these devices work, it
is probably because they keep the snorer awake.
Snoring is
often a sign of obstructed breathing, and this obstruction
can be serious. However, the majority of snorers can be helped
through lifestyle changes and medical treatment. Contact
an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon for a complete
evaluation.
6. You can "toughen up" your ears by
continued exposure to loud noise.
Fiction!
If you think you have grown used to a loud noise, it has already
damaged your ears. When noise is too loud, it begins to kill
the sensitive nerve endings in your inner ear. Remember,
there is no way to restore life to dead nerve endings; the
damage is permanent. Consult an otolaryngologist for appropriate
hearing protectors if you work in an excessively noisy environment,
or use power tools, noisy yard equipment, or firearms.
7. You should avoid speaking or singing when
your voice is hoarse.
Fact!
When your voice is injured or hoarse,
you should "rest" your
vocal folds, just as you would avoid walking on a sprained
ankle. And remember, whispering (instead of speaking) does
not rest your vocal folds.
If you are hoarse longer than 2-3
weeks, or have a complete loss or severe change in voice
lasting longer than a few days, consult an otolaryngologist.
Prolonged hoarseness may be a sign of a serious health problem
requiring medical treatment.
8. You don't have to go swimming to get "swimmer's
ear."
Fact!
Whenever water gets into the ear--from swimming, showering,
or hair washing-- it can bring in bacterial or fungal particles.
Usually, the water runs back out of your ear. But sometimes
water is trapped in your ear canal, allowing bacteria and
fungi to grow and infect the outer ear.
You may have "swimmer's
ear" (otitis externa) if
you experience the following symptoms: your ear feels blocked
and itches; your ear canal is swollen; your ear drains a runny,
milky liquid; or your ear is very painful and tender to touch.
If you experience these symptoms, or if your glands become
swollen, see your doctor.
© 2004 AAO-HNS/AAO-HNSF |
