Blog Archive

There are some types of hearing loss that can’t be prevented, such as when the problem stems from genetic reasons, injury, or as a side effect of a medical condition. In other cases, you can take steps to protect your hearing, now and in the future.  As your partner in...

Sinusitis often appears during allergy season or alongside upper respiratory infections such as the common cold or influenza. You suffer from congestion and runny nose over the course of the illness and then return to normal.  Sometimes, though, sinusitis persists for 12 weeks or more, earning the status of a...

A bit of dizziness now and then is rarely much to worry about. It’s a symptom of many conditions, and it can happen when you simply get up too quickly.  When vertigo becomes a frequent companion, the problem changes scope. Your risk of falling may increase, nausea and vomiting might...

If you find yourself struggling to be heard as you get older, it’s likely due to a condition called presbylaryngis, the medical term for vocal cord atrophy. Like many other muscles in your body, your vocal cords can be harder to keep in shape as you age.  Corrective voice therapy...

Hearing loss is a common problem in the United States, with about 15% of the population over the age of 18 suffering some level of hearing impairment. This rate increases with age, and half of those reaching the age of 75 have hearing loss.  Because of the way your brain...

Let’s face it: the sun feels good on your face. There’s a reason people go outside in nice weather, and sunlight is an important part of the process that supplies your body with vitamin D.  However, too much of a good thing sometimes has consequences, and in the case of...

The most common reason parents bring their children to the doctor is because of ear pain. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) estimates that fully 5 of 6 children will suffer from at least one ear infection before they reach the age of 3.  It’s not...

One of the most common symptoms that prompts people to visit a physician is dizziness. Also called vertigo, it’s as prevalent among patients’ complaints as back pain or headaches, affecting up to about 20% of adults in the United States.  Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is among the primary causes...

The common cold is a viral infection that often causes a condition called sinusitis. These happen together so often that you may think of them as a singular illness. The congestion and excess mucus caused by the cold can fill up sinus cavities and interfere with drainage.  Sinus congestion can...

A confident speaking voice is an asset in virtually every facet of life. Voice therapy helps patients who have any of a wide variety of vocal disorders feel and sound like themselves again, without surgery or medication. At Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates, our team works with you to restore the full...

There are two primary types of hearing loss, and it’s perhaps easiest to think of these as mechanical and electronic. Mechanical hearing loss, medically known as conductive loss, occurs when there’s a physical reason why sound can’t get to the inner ear.  Sensorineural hearing loss is the electronic version. In...

One of the first systems your body has for capturing germs as they enter your body through the nose and mouth are the tonsils: two oval, fleshy pads at the back of your throat.  Since tonsils encounter infecting agents like viruses and bacteria, it’s not surprising that they can become...

Ear infections are one of the most common reasons for children to see their doctor. It can seem sometimes that one infection runs into another, and your child may frequently complain about sore ears.  Regardless of how common they are, ear infections aren’t something you can simply ignore until they...

When you have an unexpected change to the pitch, loudness, or quality of your voice, it may be a voice disorder medically known as dysphonia.  It can be sudden, or it might be a chronic condition where your voice differs substantially from what may be expected for your age, gender,...

Corrective devices all carry adjustment periods. Eyeglasses tend to be easy, particularly if you’ve worn glasses for years. Hearing aids are another matter. Generally, these take longer to feel like your new normal. This may be partly because your brain adapts more slowly to auditory changes. You might have been...

The typical cause of acute sinusitis is the common cold, a viral infection, though sometimes the inflamed, swollen, and congested sinuses create ideal conditions for bacterial growth.  While a viral infection clears up in 7-10 days, life can be miserable along the way. When bacteria take hold, you may be...

One privilege of growing up is leaving childhood illnesses behind. That’s only partly the case, as some of those ailments can recur throughout your life, though perhaps not with the same frequency. Middle ear infections are one such illness, as well as the most common type of ear infection.  Children...

It’s a noisy world out there. Over 37 million American adults have some level of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the United States Department of Health & Human Services.  It’s a problem that gets more common with age and it can affect...

It’s normal to have voice issues during or after a respiratory condition like a cold or the flu. You might even find your voice gone after your enthusiastic participation at a concert or sporting event. However, these vocal disturbances are temporary, clearing up in a week or two, and it...

A butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck, the thyroid makes hormones that control your body’s metabolism.  Thyroid hormones have a narrow window of balance. If this gland produces too much or too little, your body may respond with a wide range of symptoms that are sometimes hard to...

Skin cancers are the most common forms of the disease in America, making up about half of all new cases every year. The head and neck can be particularly vulnerable due to their frequent exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun.  At Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates, we help our...

Digital technology touches many aspects of our lives, often in ways beyond the imaginations of past decades. Twenty years ago, digital hearing aids were in their infancy, inferior devices to conventional analog hearing aids, but with developing capabilities and an expansive future.  Today, hearing aids are exclusively digital with features...

Virtually everyone knows the feeling of head pressure, runny nose, and congestion that accompanies upper respiratory infections like cold and flu, symptoms known as sinusitis. You feel quite sick for a few days, then start to recover over the next week.  For those with chronic sinusitis, symptoms last for three...

Middle ear infections, medically known as otitis media, happen more in childhood than any other time of life. It’s not that children are always more susceptible to the viruses and bacteria that cause ear infections, though that can play a role. The size and shape of their developing bodies can...

It’s easy to take your voice for granted. You open your mouth to speak and there it is. Then one day something changes. Perhaps when you speak, a stranger’s voice, hoarse and breathy, comes out. You may have little voice at all. Chances are — there’s a problem with your...

Ankyloglossia is the medical term for tongue-tie, a condition that restricts the normal range of tongue movement for children. It occurs when your child’s lingual frenulum connects the tip of their tongue to the floor of their mouth. For some children, this tissue band may be tight, thick, or short, causing...

When you feel like you’re spinning, but you aren’t, you have vertigo. You might only feel the sensation for a few seconds, but the reason why may be mysterious. That’s partly because vertigo isn’t a disease, but rather a symptom of another condition. The chances of vertigo being associated with a...

Hearing loss is a common issue as people get older. Sometimes, age-related loss simply happens with no recognizable cause. The amount of noise you’re exposed to throughout your lifetime, though, could be a contributor to accelerated hearing loss. It’s also a preventable cause of lost hearing.  The progression of hearing loss...

An infection of the sinus linings around the nose, sinusitis so frequently accompanies colds and allergies that many people think they’re one illness. It’s easy to get that impression with acute sinusitis, which usually lasts a few weeks at the most.  That’s only one of several types of sinusitis, though. The...

Twenty percent of Americans experience skin cancer by the time they reach the age of 70. Almost 10,000 people in the United States receive a skin cancer diagnosis every day, while about 50 people die from it in the same time period.  Skin cancer outcomes aren’t always bad, though. It’s...

Losing your balance due to vertigo can be an upsetting occurrence. While vertigo itself isn’t usually a sign of a serious condition, the results of a dizziness-induced fall certainly can be.  The most common cause of this dizzy, spinning feeling is medically called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).  This inner...

About 48 million Americans have some level of hearing loss, including about 15% of the adult population. Age-related hearing loss, called presbycusis, is the most common diagnosis, but often the genetic loss of hearing is compounded by other lifestyle and environmental factors.  There are two basic types of hearing loss,...

Chances are good that the first time you heard about growths on your thyroid was after a routine medical exam. The doctor noted these nodules while manually checking the butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck.  It’s a common condition, estimated to affect about 50% of Americans by the...

You may feel light-headed, unsteady, woozy, or like the floor is moving. Dizziness is frequently described differently by those who suffer from it. That’s not surprising, since dizziness doesn’t emerge from a single cause.  Vertigo is sometimes thought of as a synonym of dizziness, though vertigo’s characteristic symptom is a...

As the largest organ of your body, skin covers virtually every surface. Your skin’s outer layer, called the epidermis, is made up of three types of cells, each susceptible to a form of cancer.  Ear, nose, and throat specialists like the professionals at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates primarily focus on a...

Hearing loss affects about 15% of the population in the United States, and an equal number have tinnitus symptoms. These are the primary conditions that lead to hearing aids being prescribed.  Because of the nature of each condition, it’s sometimes difficult to recognize that hearing aids can help. An ear...

Most people know that calcium is an integral part of their bones, the hard material that gives strength to their skeleton. These seemingly solid components of your body are, however, in constant renewal.  Calcium from your bones is also a reservoir for serum calcium in your bloodstream. This level is...

About 5% of the population is born with tongue tie, the common name for ankyloglossia. While extreme cases are detected during infancy, it’s possible for the condition to cause few issues, allowing a person to adapt.  Tongue tie could then cause complications later in life, even though the condition is...

Not everyone who snores has a health problem, particularly when snoring is occasional and disturbs no one. However, snoring is often a symptom of a potentially serious sleep disorder that could lead to other chronic health issues.  Yet, snoring is so common for many people, it may seem as though...

Voice disorders, medically known as dysphonia, are persistent changes to your normal voice, the result of problems with the process of speech. While there are many causes behind dysphonia, voice therapy is a common treatment for many patients.  Voice therapy helps you to “unlearn” speech habits that take a toll...

Vertigo is a feeling of dizziness or spinning that virtually everyone has experienced, even if it’s just for an instant. It could happen when you get up too quickly, and your vestibular system momentarily loses orientation.  For some people, though, vertigo is a more frequent problem. It isn’t a disease...

Voice disorders can strike anyone, of any age, often in response to straining or overuse, which results in a condition called dysphonia. The raspy, breathy voice that’s typical of dysphonia usually clears up within a week or so.   For some people, though, dysphonia persists longer, and this can be a...

As many as 20% of Americans will experience skin cancer by the time they reach the age of 70. It’s the most common form of cancer in the United States, and in many cases, it may be preventable by protecting yourself from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun...

The viruses responsible for the common cold create an infection that causes the lining of your sinuses to swell and inflame.  Though sinuses are normally air-filled, the swelling traps fluid, creating that plugged and achy feeling as well as the seemingly endless supply of mucus that makes you  burn through...

Your ears have several natural guardians, keeping foreign objects and pathogens at bay. Small hairs line the walls of the ear canals, and these walls also manufacture a waxy substance called cerumen, though it’s more commonly known as earwax.  Earwax is constantly being produced, and it normally advances out of...

Virtually everyone experiences minor episodes of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the medical name for the brief dizziness you may experience when you move quickly, changing your head position. The sudden movement sends your sense of balance spinning for a second or two. It’s normal and generally harmless.  BPPV is...

It’s called presbycusis, but you likely know it as age-related hearing loss. It affects about 25% of the population who reach the age of 65, and it often develops because of gradual changes to parts of your ear or nerves that connect to your brain. Other circumstances, such as prolonged...

Dysphonia refers to any disorder that affects your normal voice. Overuse of your voice is a common risk factor, but there are many others.  When you’re affected, you have essentially three treatment options, depending on what is causing your condition. One of these three is corrective voice therapy, a conservative...

There are many reasons, known and unknown, why babies resist breastfeeding. In many cases, it’s impossible to know what factor or combination of factors adds up to inefficient feeding. A lactation consultant can be a great resource for breastfeeding problems.   Often, the problem is short-lived: As instinct and learning kick...

One sunburn won’t cause the changes to skin cells that turn into cancer, but it adds to your previous exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) components of sunlight.  Those cumulative effects, however, can cause precancerous mutations five or more years down the road. It could be much longer before there are...

People who reach their 75th birthday have a 1 in 2 chance of doing so with hearing loss severe enough to be disabling. Yet, instead of this 50% rate at age 75, it’s only 2% for those 45-54 years old.  The onset of age-related hearing loss is often gradual, developing...

You might not think it’s time to visit Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates when you feel a toothache. However, when it comes to ear, nose, and throat problems, your teeth can be innocent bystanders.  It’s not your first call, obviously. You’ll visit your dentist, who will rule out dental problems. That’s when...

Another ear infection? It’s probably not your imagination if it seems like your child just got over a previous infection. Children are far more susceptible to ear infections than adults. Five out of every six children have at least one ear infection before they turn 3 years old. Summer is...

Most people take swallowing for granted. Not only is it an automatic response while you’re eating, you swallow saliva frequently throughout the day. Most people also know the feeling of swallowing difficulties that accompany sore throats when they’re ill. This may be a problem only every few years, and after...

The term dysphonia sounds serious. To call it a hoarse voice doesn’t seem quite so bad. However, both are generic terms that cover a range of voice disorders that make you sound like, well, somebody else, and usually not in a good way.  Defining a voice disorder usually means meeting...

It’s amazing, isn’t it? The sunscreen that disappears as you apply it still protects you from the harmful ultraviolet (UV) components of sunlight. If you’ve ever had a sun-generated handprint or a random, awkward tan line, you know that your lotion is doing the job, even when the application process...

Earaches are common in children, but you’re not exempt once you exit the teen years. Adults can get them too. While it’s common to equate earaches with infection, it’s not always a for-sure diagnosis. If there’s a sore ear in your house, it’s an ideal time to visit the ear...

It doesn’t matter where you live in the United States, your skincare needs to change with the seasons. While many people tend to spend the winter months indoors, the lack of exposure to cold temperatures and icy elements doesn’t mean you’re off the hook where your skin is concerned. Plenty...

Any condition that affects the normal sound of your voice is classified medically as dysphonia. Most commonly, it means you experience a hoarse, raspy, or weak sound. It could be temporary, such as part of the symptoms of a cold or throat infection, and sometimes there’s no observable cause for the...

When your nose is stuffed, your first concern may be breathing easier, not identifying the cause of your condition. However, there’s more than one cause of nasal inflammation. Sometimes, as with a cold virus, you must simply weather the storm, treating symptoms as best you can. When allergies are the...

About 4 in 10 adult Americans experience vertigo at some point in their lives. If you belong to this group, it’s important to note that vertigo is a symptom, not a disorder itself. While generally occurring due to a problem with your vestibular system, the dizziness and balance issues associated with vertigo may...

If you’ve got a sore throat and a bit of a fever, they may be signs that a cold is coming on. However, add in neck stiffness, swollen and tender lymph nodes, or headaches, and it’s possible that your tonsils may be infected. Tonsillitis is a localized infection that’s also...

Hearing loss rarely happens overnight, so when you’re suddenly faced with the sound of the world through newly prescribed hearing aids, the abrupt return of volume can be disconcerting and even upsetting.   In fact, this might be a significant factor contributing to “sock drawer” hearing aids, those that end...

If it seems like you’re taking your kids to the doctor more for ear infections than any other complaint, it’s because you are. Ear infections, medically called otitis media, are the No. 1 reason why children see a primary caregiver. Five of every six kids will have at least one...

With the sunny days of summer upon us, it’s a good time to remember that, as good as it feels, too much sun exposure risks a range of ill effects on your skin, from premature aging to cancer. In fact, skin cancer is the most common form of the disease...

While thyroid cancer isn’t common in America, its incidence is on the rise, perhaps due to more effective screening procedures. It’s also a cancer that usually responds well to treatment. In 2018, new definitions for thyroid cancer stages took effect to more accurately reflect the experience of clinicians across the...

The warmth of the sun often feels good, particularly after the cool, dull days of winter, but as you likely already know, too much sun has its own drawbacks. As well as causing the discomfort and pain of sunburn, absorbing ultraviolet components of the sun’s rays contributes to some types...

Virtually everyone has felt dizzy at some point in their life, whether due to playing spinning games as a child or as the result of illness or medical condition. Whenever you feel like the world around you is moving or spinning, the sensation is called vertigo. Vertigo and dizziness can...

There was a time when having your tonsils removed was virtually a rite of passage when you were growing up, often the first surgery in a young child’s life. Sections of lymph tissue at the sides of the throat behind your tongue, tonsils are the gateway protectors, part of the...

A Time of Celebration and Thanksgiving! We have started a new year and the holiday season is winding down. In addition to the more familiar holidays, we recently celebrated a couple of milestones at the Kansas Voice Center. We celebrated the 100th birthday of “the chair” as well as the...

Did you recently notice that Sunday dinner didn’t have quite the same appeal? Your appetite was fine, but perhaps the house didn’t seem filled with the appealing aroma, and the food didn’t taste as delicious as usual, either. Relax, it’s probably not a sudden loss of cooking skills. You may...

It may be surprising and upsetting when you discover a lump on your neck that you haven’t previously noticed. The good news is that neck lumps are common and most often harmless. They can come in different sizes and textures, and they’re usually non-cancerous. But there are a few types...

Chances are good you’ll have questions when you come home from your doctor with ear tubes recommended for your child. Relax, as it’s a common procedure for a common condition in children. The spaces behind our eardrums are normally vented through natural drainage tubes called the eustachian tubes, but frequent,...

Since nearly 50% of all Americans over the age of 65 have some level of hearing loss, it’s likely that you or many of those around you will be affected. Hearing loss in older people can be the product of years of exposure to loud noise, or it could result...

Being tongue-tied is never comfortable, but when it’s a physical condition and it involves your child, it could mean they have trouble eating or speaking. The culprit is a band of flesh under the tongue that’s easily treated once it’s diagnosed. Title: Diagnosing and Treating Tongue-Tie in BabiesFor many people,...

Occasional nosebleeds are common. If you have a few after a particularly bad respiratory infection or another during the dry months of winter, there’s likely no fundamental issue, and you won’t need treatment beyond a supply of clean, absorbent material. The wound will heal and you’re good to go until...

August 28, 2018That Sounded Great! I just returned from a wonderful event at the Lied Center at the University of Kansas. The event took place in the auditorium and was titled: Gael Hannan: I’m Hearing as Hard as I Can. The event was the public debut for the new hearing loop...

If you wake up one morning and find that the hearing in one of your ears is considerably reduced, you may be experiencing sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), which develops in approximately 4,000 adults in the United States each year. The good news is that if they get quick treatment,...

More people in the United States are diagnosed with skin cancer than all other cancers combined. If that statistic doesn’t grab your attention, then maybe this one will: one in five people will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.Thankfully, most skin cancer is highly treatable, and curable if...