Dr. Sophia Omoro, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist at Midwest Surgical Specialists-ENT, has seen and treated just about every ailment you could have from the neck up in her 15 years of practice. And she knows that many of the health problems plaguing her patients are preventable.
“Even though we can do a lot to alleviate pain, or even cure a problem, many common health issues could be avoided with a few lifestyle changes,” says Dr. Omoro. Here are 5 changes you can make to help avoid ENT problems:
Don’t smoke – This bad habit is a ticket to cancer, like picking up a number at the Bureau of Motor Vehicle and waiting. You don’t know when you’ll be called, but you will be.
Smoking can also cause a variety of other health problems, like heart disease, stroke, lung disease and so on. Dr. Omoro treats cancers above the neck, so even if her patients are cured of cancer, they often suffer from loss of part of their face, or their ability to speak or eat food.
Change the way you eat – ENT doctors treat people with serious heartburn that shoots acid up into their throats. The burning is painful, and lifestyle issues are often the cause. Americans are overweight, eat fried, fatty and spicy foods, boast of their caffeine addictions and eat large meals close to bedtime. All these practices can cause acid reflux.
“To avoid acid reflux, you should eat a lighter meal at dinner and don’t eat anything else within three hours of going to bed, so your food can be completely digested before you lie down,” says Dr. Omoro.
Avoid loud noises, particularly shooting – Dr. Omoro regularly sees hunters who have experienced hearing loss due to absent or inadequate ear protection. All it takes is one loud noise to damage the auditory nerve permanently. She says an audiologist can fashion a noise-filtering device, but ordinary ear protection is woefully insufficient.
In any event, parents should leave their children home when they hunt. One 7-year-old boy came to her office with profound hearing loss due to hunting without ear protection. “Nothing can bring it back; it’s gone,” says Dr. Omoro. “And his father could have prevented it.”
Other activities that harm hearing are loud music in enclosed spaces, like concert venues, cars and headphones, and workplace noises like heavy equipment. In each of those cases, the noise can be avoided or proper ear protection can be worn.
Wear sunscreen – Cancer of the head and neck, often caused by excess exposure to the sun – or to tanning beds. Erroneously have been shown conclusively to increase your risk of skin cancer. “Young people think they are immune to this,” she said.
Drink more water and less of everything else – Salivary stones, like kidney stones, are painful and debilitating, and are often caused by a simple lack of hydration. Saliva is high in calcium, and if the duct gets blocked, stones can form.
“Hydration means water – not soda because it has no nutritional value,” says Dr. Omoro. You should also try to reduce your intake of tea and coffee because caffeine has the opposite effect of hydrating.
A few simple lifestyle changes can keep the ENT away, and avoid common problems like cancer, heartburn and ringing in the ears. Not all ear, nose and throat issues are the result of lifestyle issues, so if you have a health problem that involves these body parts, you might need an otolaryngologist.
For more information about ENT services at Midwest Surgical Specialists-ENT, call 419-998-8244 or visit midwestsurgical.org.
