Summertime in South Texas could either be argued as the perfect time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, or the best time to avoid it all together! With school out and temperatures soaring, many families are going to be seeking adventure and relief from the heat. With adventure ahead for the rest of the summer, know what to look for when these common summertime ENT issues might try to ruin the fun.

Common Summertime ENT Issues

1. Swimmer’s Ear

Beating the heat in Texas often means you are either inside enjoying your air conditioning or you are in some sort of body of water! Some never have any issues, but many people do suffer from swimmer’s ear.

What is swimmer’s ear?

Swimmer’s ear is also called otitis externa and is an inflammation, irritation or infection of the external ear canal. When water gets trapped in your ear canal, bacteria or fungi can take hold and start to grow, resulting in pain and swelling.

You might experience redness of the outer ear, itching inside of the ear, pain, drainage, muffled hearing and fever. Luckily, with diagnosis and treatment from your health care provider, swimmer’s ear usually clears up within 7-10 days.

2. Allergies

While you may think you are out of the woods for allergies once spring has passed, you are actually just transitioning into a different allergen season. While the tree pollen is dropping off by the end of May, the grass and ragweed pollen are starting to ramp up. Further, if we have a wet season, like we had in June, mold will start to climb. An increase in allergies could lead you down the road to a sinus infection, so it is important to treat your symptoms. See our post about how to keep your allergies under control to learn more about how you can lead the defensive against that pesky pollen.

3. Noise Induced Hearing Loss

When you are outdoors more often, you have an increased chance of being exposed to loud noises. Whether it’s the fireworks you blasted for the 4th of July, a concert you’ve always wanted to go to or a construction project that you decided to take up, you have an increased chance of noise-induced hearing loss.

If you believe you are going to be around loud noises, wear hearing protection and take the appropriate measures to keep your hearing safe. If you notice ringing in your ears or other signs of hearing loss, it is important to get your hearing checked.

Luckily, our friends over at Doss Audiology are exceptional at their job and are able to see you right here in Floresville. They have a survey on their home page that you can take from the comfort of your own home to see if you may be suffering from hearing loss.

4. Tonsillectomies

This is a common summertime procedure due to the fact that school is out and children have the chance to recover at home without missing a beat in class. Enlarged tonsils can cause problems ranging from sleep apnea to throat and ear infections – symptoms include snoring or loud, open-mouthed breathing, restless sleep and pauses in breathing during sleep. During the day, your child may be sleepy and cranky, or even hyperactive!

Surgery to remove the tonsils and/or adenoids can be done safely and effectively as an outpatient procedure at our local hospital. If you are interested in evaluating your child for the removal of their tonsils/adenoids, give our office a call or book directly from our website so that we can get you on our schedule before school starts back up.

5. Burst Eardrum

Falling wrong after an epic cannonball, water-skiing run or descending too quickly into the depths while scuba diving can send you into a world of pain with a perforated ear drum. A sudden change in ear pressure or direct trauma can cause your eardrum to rupture. This area of your body has a lot of nerves, so it can be very painful.

Once your ear drum has ruptured, after the initial pain, you might feel better because of the pressure equilibrium, but it is important to pay attention to signs of a ruptured ear drum such as:

  • Fluid leaking from your ear
  • Vertigo that may leave you nauseated
  • Hearing loss
  • Ringing in your ear

It is important to see your doctor right away, as bacteria and other things can get into your middle and inner ear, which could result in an infection causing further hearing loss.

While rupturing your ear drum might be a scary experience, the good news is that most perforations heal over the course of a few weeks. However, sometimes it does require surgery to repair the tear.

6. Grilling Tools

Summertime Grilling

Summertime is synonymous with grilling season and in Texas, BBQ is a sacred thing. However, the grill brushes with wire bristles can result in some serious health hazards. The bristles have been known to break loose and lodge themselves in your digestive tract as you ingest them with your plate of food. Bristles stuck in your throat or elsewhere could result in a trip to your local emergency department. With so many safer alternatives on the market, your best bet is to ditch the wire cleaning tools!

If you have any questions or concerns about summertime ENT issues, give us a call at (830) 393-2140 or book an appointment!