ENT FAQs: Ear, Nose, Throat & Voice

Consultations are with Dr. Savyasachi Saxena, MBBS, MS (ENT), an ENT and head-neck surgeon who is Director of NEO ENT Clinic, Indirapuram, and Head of Department of ENT & Head-Neck Surgery at Fortis Hospital, Noida.

NEO ENT Clinic, Indirapuram, usually runs Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM and 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM, and on Sunday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Timings can change on holidays or surgery days, so the booking page always shows the slots that are actually available. Dr. Saxena also consults at Fortis Hospital, Noida, Monday to Saturday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Open the Book Appointment page, choose a date and a free time slot, and enter your details to confirm the booking. You can also call the clinic on 70110 36165. Appointments at Fortis Hospital, Noida are booked directly through the hospital.

For online consultations, the current fee is shown before you pay. For in-clinic visits, the fee can be confirmed when you book or by calling the clinic. If a test or procedure is advised, its charges are explained before it is done.

Bring your previous prescriptions and a list of medicines you take, earlier hearing test reports, CT or MRI scans (the CD or films as well as the report), blood test results and any discharge summaries. For children, bring newborn hearing screening records if available. It also helps to note down your main symptoms and how long you've had them.

Booking a slot in advance is the best way to keep your waiting time short. If you need to be seen urgently and no slot is free, call the clinic and the team will advise you.

Call the clinic on 70110 36165 with the name and time of your booking, and the team will cancel it or help you choose another slot. Letting the clinic know early frees the slot for another patient.

Many health insurance policies in India don't cover outpatient consultations, so consultations are usually paid at the visit. For planned surgery, insurance and cashless (TPA) options depend on your policy and the hospital where the operation takes place — check with your insurer and the hospital's insurance desk before admission.

Check that the doctor holds a recognised ENT qualification (MS or DNB in ENT) and a valid medical registration, has experience with your particular problem, examines you properly — for example with endoscopy — and arranges only the tests you need. A good specialist explains every option, including not operating, and is easy to reach for follow-up. Patient reviews help, but treat them as one factor among several.

Pick an online slot on the Online Consultation page, enter your details and pay the consultation fee securely. Once payment is confirmed, your booking confirmation includes a Google Meet link for your appointment time. Join from your phone or computer a few minutes early, from a quiet, well-lit place.

Video consultations work well for follow-up visits, reviewing test reports and scans, discussing whether surgery is needed, allergy and sinus symptoms, and second opinions. Many ENT problems need the ear, nose or throat to be examined with instruments, so the doctor may advise an in-person visit if a proper diagnosis can't be made on video.

If the doctor finds it appropriate after the video consultation, advice on medicines and tests is given in line with India's telemedicine practice guidelines. Some medicines and all procedures need an in-person assessment first.

A smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone, a stable internet connection, and the Google Meet app or a web browser. Keep your reports, scans and list of medicines within reach so you can discuss them.

No. For breathing difficulty, heavy bleeding, sudden facial weakness or any other emergency, call 112 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Swimmer's ear (otitis externa) is an infection of the outer ear canal, often after water, sand or debris gets trapped in the ear. It's treated with prescription ear drops, keeping the ear dry, and avoiding cotton buds while it heals.

Usually not. Earwax protects the ear canal and normally works its way out on its own. It only needs removing when it blocks hearing, causes discomfort or stops the doctor from seeing the eardrum. Avoid cotton buds and ear candles; have wax removed at the clinic if needed.

Yes, listening at high volume for long periods can permanently damage the inner ear. Keep the volume at a comfortable level — many experts suggest no more than about 60% — and take regular breaks. Ringing or muffled hearing after listening is a warning sign.

Often, yes. Depending on the cause, medicines, repositioning manoeuvres for positional vertigo, hearing aids, sound therapy and intratympanic injection therapy help many people without an operation. The right option depends on a proper examination and hearing tests.

Brief spinning when you roll over, lie down or look up is often caused by BPPV, a common inner-ear condition. It is usually treated during a clinic visit with simple repositioning manoeuvres. Vertigo with weakness, slurred speech or double vision needs emergency care.

A hearing aid makes sounds louder and suits many people with mild to severe hearing loss. A cochlear implant is surgically placed and stimulates the hearing nerve directly; it is considered for severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss when hearing aids no longer give enough benefit.

A cold usually improves within 7 to 10 days. Symptoms that last longer, get worse after first improving, or come with facial pain and thick discharge suggest sinusitis. Sinus symptoms that continue for 12 weeks or more are called chronic sinusitis and should be assessed by an ENT.

FESS is an endoscopic operation performed through the nostrils to treat chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps that haven't improved with medicines. It clears diseased tissue and opens the sinuses' natural drainage pathways, without cuts on the face.

Decongestant sprays such as oxymetazoline or xylometazoline shouldn't be used for more than a few days. Longer use can cause rebound congestion, where the nose gets more blocked each time the spray wears off. An ENT can help you stop them safely and treat the underlying cause.

Sit upright, lean slightly forward, and pinch the soft part of your nose firmly for a full 10 minutes without letting go early. Don't tilt your head back. Get urgent medical help if the bleeding hasn't stopped after 20 minutes, is heavy, or follows an injury.

When a deviated septum clearly causes a blocked nose and medicines haven't helped, it can be straightened with endoscopic septoplasty, performed through the nostrils. Your surgeon will explain the expected hospital stay and recovery time.

Yes, if it hasn't recovered within a few weeks. Common causes include nasal polyps, chronic sinusitis, allergies and viral infections. A nasal endoscopy can often find the cause, and some types of smell loss improve with treatment or smell training.

No. Most sore throats are caused by viruses and get better within a week with fluids, rest and pain relief. Antibiotics are used when a bacterial infection is likely. See a doctor if a sore throat is severe, lasts more than a week, or comes with difficulty breathing or swallowing.

Tonsillectomy is considered for frequent, well-documented tonsil infections, a tonsil abscess (quinsy), tonsils large enough to affect breathing or swallowing during sleep, or a suspicious tonsil. It can be done with conventional or LASER techniques.

Occasional snoring is common, but loud snoring with gasping, choking or daytime sleepiness may indicate obstructive sleep apnoea and should be evaluated, sometimes with a sleep study.

Persistent hoarseness can be caused by vocal cord nodules or polyps, acid reflux, or a growth on the voice box. Hoarseness lasting more than three weeks should be examined with laryngoscopy; treatment ranges from voice therapy and medicines to microlaryngeal surgery.

Any mouth or tongue ulcer, patch, lump or thickening that lasts more than two weeks should be examined by an ENT or head and neck specialist. Most turn out to be harmless, but finding tongue and mouth cancers early allows simpler treatment.

Consider an ENT visit if your child has frequent ear infections or ear discharge, loud snoring or pauses in breathing during sleep, constant mouth-breathing, repeated tonsil infections, doesn't respond well to sounds, or is slow to start talking.

Watch for a child who doesn't respond to sounds or their name, is slow to start talking, or turns up the volume on devices. Newborn hearing screening and regular check-ups help catch hearing loss early.

Yes. Newborn hearing screening with simple, painless tests such as OAE is recommended for all babies, ideally within the first month. Finding hearing loss early allows support during the most important years for speech and language.

A grommet is a tiny tube placed in the eardrum to drain fluid and ventilate the middle ear. It is commonly advised for children with glue ear that persists for months and affects hearing, or with frequent ear infections.

Adenoidectomy is a common, generally safe operation for children whose enlarged adenoids cause blocked breathing, disturbed sleep or repeated ear problems. Techniques such as coblation help limit bleeding, and most children recover within a few days. Your surgeon will discuss the small risks involved.

Consultations take place at NEO ENT Clinic, Indirapuram, and at Fortis Hospital, Noida. When surgery is recommended, Dr. Saxena explains where it will be done, the type of anaesthesia, the expected hospital stay and how to prepare.

The cost depends on the procedure, the hospital and room category, the type of anaesthesia and any tests or implants needed. After examining you and reviewing your reports, the team can give you an estimate so you can plan, including with your insurer.

Yes. A second opinion is a sensible step before any planned operation. Bring your reports, scans and the advice you've received to a clinic visit, or book an online consultation to review them.

It varies with the operation: often around a week after procedures such as septoplasty or sinus surgery, and about two weeks after tonsillectomy. Major head and neck surgery needs longer. You'll get specific advice for your procedure.