If you have an issue with your ear and hearing health, then knowing where to go is very important. However, there are different kinds of specialists for different kinds of needs. Some of them may sound similar but offer different services. For instance, how do you know whether you should go to an audiologist or an ENT doctor?
These might sound like much the same thing at first glance, but they tend to have a different focus with their treatments. Below we will look at what you need to know about the difference between an audiologist and an ENT.
While an audiologist is there to help you find the right long-term treatment for hearing loss and to ensure your ear health is as well maintained as possible, ENT doctors focus on a more surgical and medication-based approach.
What services do an audiologist provide?
Audiologists can perform a wide range of treatments for you, including the following:
- Offering advice on protecting your hearing, as well as how to communicate if you experience hearing loss, as well as caring for hearing aid devices.
- Performing comprehensive hearing exams that can diagnose hearing loss, help you understand its severity, and recommend treatment.
- Professional wax removals to deal with wax blockages in the safest and most effective way possible.
- Helping you select and fit hearing aids to suit your hearing loss and your needs. They can also offer some repairs for hearing aids when needed.
- Treatment with tinnitus, including a full medical and audiological assessment. Treatment may include the use of a sound masking device to help you habituate or mitigate the effects of the tinnitus.
- Help you choose and purchase hearing protection devices. For instance, if you want to buy custom earplugs, they can take a mould of your ear.
What services do an ENT doctor provide?
ENT doctors, on the other hand, tend to deal with a range of medical issues affecting the ear, nose, and throat, and can help with the following:
- Ear conditions such as infections and tumors, both benign and cancerous.
- Nasal issues, such as sinusitis, allergies and tumors.
- Throat issues like tonsillitis and growths.
- Sleep apnea and the potential physical causes which are often found in the nose or the throat.
Both an audiologist and ENT doctor provide essential services. You just need to know when to visit which.
Should you see an audiologist or an ENT doctor?
If you have any concerns related to your hearing loss, suspicions of hearing loss or technology that is used to treat hearing loss or tinnitus, then you should call us – Strauss Audiology. We’re here to answer any questions and arrange an appointment if you need one. We are well-versed in caring for a variety of hearing health conditions.
About Strauss Audiology
Strauss Audiology is a professional audiology business in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, offering expert, effective hearing advice that is tailored to clients’ unique hearing needs. We conduct hearing evaluations, hearing tests and vertigo assessments, and provide a range of solutions to improve and protect clients’ hearing. This includes providing hearing aids to Cape Town clients. With 16 years of experience, and with the qualifications and certifications to deliver leading hearing care, you can trust us to take care of your hearing needs.
Want your hearing tested? Need a solution for hearing loss?