关于耳鼻喉科
耳鼻喉科是维护人类耳鼻咽喉基本功能的学科。
很难想象一个歌手因为喉咙疾病不能歌唱，或者个人因为听力功能障碍听不到美妙的音乐！
试想春雨过后无法闻到泥土的味道，或者因为吞咽障碍和味觉异常无法品尝和享受您最喜欢的节日大餐。
您能想象，因为他们打鼾，所以无法在您所爱的人身边彻夜入睡是多么的痛苦。
这些都是人类耳鼻咽喉的一些基本功能，正是耳鼻咽喉科这些功能，使生活如此丰富和美妙。然而，当这些功能中的一项或多项不再按应有的方式工作时，生活的快乐就会减少甚至生命都会受到威胁。
听力和平衡、吞咽和说话、呼吸和睡眠问题、过敏和鼻窦炎症、头颈肿瘤、皮肤疾病，甚至面部整形手术都是“耳鼻喉”专家治疗的疾病的范畴。
专业上，耳鼻喉科专家被称为“otolaryngologists” (pronounced: oh/toe/lair/in/goll/oh/jists),但通常只称“ENT”（耳ear、鼻nose、喉throat）更容易。
耳鼻喉科专家主要做什么？
耳鼻喉科疾病非常常见，社区就诊的患者，几乎一半涉及耳鼻喉科方面的问题。
每个人都有过鼻塞、耳朵堵塞或喉咙痛的经历，耳鼻喉科专家会治疗各种耳、鼻、喉、头部和颈部区域的炎症，外伤，肿瘤，先天畸形和功能障碍——从简单到严重，对所有人来说，在人生的各个阶段都会得到耳鼻喉科专家的帮助。
耳鼻喉科专家不仅可以治疗您的鼻源性头痛、孩子游泳时的耳病、成人的睡眠呼吸暂停症，他们还是外科医生，可以执行极其精细的手术来恢复中耳的听力，打开阻塞的气道，切除头颈部癌，并重建这些基本结构。
当然，这需要在普通医学院学习之后，额外在临床上进行五到八年的强化培训。
耳鼻喉科学会自 1896 年以来一直制定儿童和初级保健可供遵循的专科诊治标准，使耳鼻喉科成为美国最古老的医学专业之一。
“我想说耳鼻喉科专家几乎治疗从锁骨到头颅的所有部位的疾病，除了大脑和眼睛。他们致力于复杂辛勤的临床工作。通过药物治疗和外科手术保护和恢复人类的耳鼻咽喉的功能，提高人们的生命健康感受，是耳鼻喉科专家责无旁贷的责任。”
- 威廉·R·布莱斯，医学博士
耳鼻喉科各亚学科分支及其治疗的常见疾病？
一般耳鼻喉科医生不会将他们的实践限制在头颈部的任何一个部位，并且可以治疗多种疾病。然而，一些耳鼻喉科专家会在一些亚专业领域之一进行额外培训：
耳科/神经科——听力和平衡对我们的日常生活至关重要。耳鼻喉科专家治疗耳部感染、听力损失、头晕、耳鸣（称为耳鸣）、耳朵、面部或颈部疼痛等疾病。
鼻科——我们的鼻子通过清洁过滤阻挡潜在有害的灰尘、过敏原和其他物质来促进呼吸。除了治疗过敏，耳鼻喉科专家还治疗鼻中隔偏曲、鼻炎、鼻窦炎、鼻源性头痛和偏头痛、鼻塞、颅底肿瘤（包括一些颅腔内的肿瘤）等。
喉科——影响我们正常说话和吞咽能力的疾病会对我们的生活和生计产生巨大影响。耳鼻喉科专家治疗喉咙痛、声音嘶哑、胃食管反流病 (GERD)、感染、喉咙肿瘤、气道和声带疾病等。
头颈外科——头颈部包括一些我们身体最重要的器官，这些器官特别容易患上肿瘤和癌症。除了头颈部癌症，耳鼻喉科专家还治疗良性颈部肿块、甲状腺疾病（如良性和恶性肿瘤）、格雷夫氏病、甲状腺肿大、甲状旁腺疾病等。
睡眠障碍——是否能够通畅呼吸和夜间睡眠好坏，会影响我们日常生活和工作。耳鼻喉科专家治疗睡眠呼吸障碍、鼻腔和气道阻塞、打鼾和睡眠呼吸暂停等。
面部整形和重建手术 —面部创伤以及因事故、伤害、先天缺陷或医疗副作用导致的外观变化可能令人痛苦。面部整形外科的耳鼻喉科专家可以治疗腭裂、眼睑下垂、脱发、耳畸形、面瘫、创伤重建、头颈癌重建和面部整容手术。
小儿耳鼻喉科——儿童及其发育中的身体和感官通常需要特别关注。耳鼻喉科专家治疗头颈部先天缺陷、发育迟缓、耳部感染、扁桃体和腺样体感染、气道问题、哮喘和过敏等。
版权所有 ：美国耳鼻喉科学会-头颈外科学会2021
What’s an ENT?
ENTs Treat the Fundamental Functions of Life
Imagine a singer not being able to sing, or you not being able to hear her beautiful music.
Imagine not being able to smell the earth after a spring rain, or not being able to taste and enjoy your favorite holiday meal.
Imagine not being able to sleep through the night next to your loved one because they snore.
These are some of the fundamental functions of life that make living so rich and wonderful. Yet when one or more of these functions no longer work the way they should, living is diminished or even jeopardized.
Hearing and balance, swallowing and speech, breathing and sleep issues, allergies and sinuses, head and neck cancer, skin disorders, even facial plastic surgery are just some of the conditions that “ENT” (ear, nose, and throat) specialists treat. Professionally, ENT specialists are called “otolaryngologists” (pronounced: oh/toe/lair/in/goll/oh/jists), but it’s easier just to say “ENT.”
ENTs Treat the Simple to Severe
Did you know that nearly half of patients going to primary care offices have some sort of ENT issue?
Think about it. Almost everyone has had a stuffy nose, clogged ears, or sore throat, but ENT specialists treat a diverse range of conditions and disorders of the ears, nose, throat, head, and neck region—from simple to severe, for all persons, at all stages of life.
ENT specialists are not only medical doctors who can treat your sinus headache, your child’s swimmer’s ear, or your dad’s sleep apnea. They are also surgeons who can perform extremely delicate operations to restore hearing of the middle ear, open blocked airways, remove head, neck, and throat cancers, and rebuild these essential structures. This requires an additional five to eight years of intensive, post-graduate training beyond medical school.
Organized ENTs have been setting the treatment standards that pediatric and primary care providers have been following since 1896, making otolaryngology one of the oldest medical specialties in the United States.
“I like to say that ENT specialists treat pretty much everything from the collarbone up, except for the brain and eyes. So much of this work, medical and surgical, affects how people perceive themselves as human beings, and it is a unique privilege to care for my patient’s ENT health due to the personal and profound nature of this specialty.”
- WILLIAM R. BLYTHE, MD
What Conditions Do ENTs Treat?
General otolaryngologists do not limit their practice to any one portion of the head and neck, and can treat a variety of conditions. Some ENT specialists, however, pursue additional training in one of these subspecialty areas:
Ear (otology/neurotology)—Hearing and balance are critical to how we conduct our daily lives. ENT specialists treat conditions such as ear infection, hearing loss, dizziness, ringing in the ears (called tinnitus), ear, face, or neck pain, and more.
Nose (rhinology)—Our noses facilitate breathing by helping to keep out potentially harmful dirt, allergens, and other agents. In addition to allergies, ENT specialists treat deviated septum, rhinitis, sinusitis, sinus headaches and migraines, nasal obstruction and surgery, skull-base tumors including those inside the cranial cavity, and more.
Throat (laryngology)—Disorders that affect our ability to speak and swallow properly can have a tremendous impact on our lives and livelihoods. ENT specialists treat sore throat, hoarseness, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), infections, throat tumors, airway and vocal cord disorders, and more.
Head and Neck/Thyroid—The head and neck include some of our body’s most vital organs, which can be especially susceptible to tumors and cancer. In addition to cancers of the head and neck, ENT specialists treat benign neck masses, thyroid disorders such as benign and malignant tumors, Grave’s disease, enlarged thyroid glands, parathyroid disease, and more.
Sleep—Being able to breathe and sleep well through the night has an impact on the way we experience life and perform our work. ENT specialists treat sleep-disordered breathing, nasal and airway obstruction, snoring and sleep apnea, and more.
Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery—Facial trauma and the resulting change in appearance caused by an accident, injury, birth defect, or medical condition side effect can be distressing. ENT specialists in facial plastic surgery treat cleft palates, drooping eyelids, hair loss, ear deformities, facial paralysis, trauma reconstruction, head and neck cancer reconstruction, and cosmetic surgery of the face.
Pediatrics—Children and their developing bodies and senses often need special attention. ENT specialists treat birth defects of the head and neck, developmental delays, ear infection, tonsil and adenoid infection, airway problems, asthma and allergy, and more.
Who is the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery?
The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, one of the oldest medical associations in the nation, represents about 12,000 physicians and allied health professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck.
The AAO-HNS Foundation works to advance the art, science, and ethical practice of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery through education, research, and lifelong learning.
AAO-HNS/F Vision—The global leader in optimizing quality ear, nose, and throat patient care.
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