Pediatric ENT Services

The doctors at Dubuque ENT are your local experts in pediatric ENT care. We truly enjoy caring for your whole family, and making the experience easy for your little ones.

Ear infections (acute otitis media) truly affect the whole family – when your child is sick everyone is miserable!  This condition is more common in young children, because their facial skeletal growth is incomplete, and their natural ear drainage pathyways are smaller than adults.  Because of these things, some children are more prone to recurrent ear infections.  Our doctors follow guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery to help determine when ear tubes may be most appropriate for a child.  This minimally invasive procedure is designed to naturally ventilate the middle ear, drying up fluid and prevening the painful buildup of excess pressure.  It is performed in the hospital under light inhalational anesthesia, and usually takes less than 5 minutes.  A microscope is used to help the doctor make a small incision in the eardrum, and to place a small tube.  Antibiotic drops can then be prescribed to treat most infections instead of oral antibiotics.  Additionally, most children have many fewer episodes of infection than before tubes.  The tube typically lasts about a year before the body pushes it out, and seals the hole in the ear drum.  

Benefits: Reduced number and severity of infections, Treat most infections with ear drops instead of oral antibiotcs, improved hearing and speech, prevent chronic ear damage

The tonsils and adenoids are structures of the lymphatic system, resting at the back of the throat (tonsils) and the back of the nose (adenoids).  They help the body recognize and fight infection.  Sometimes, when they are too large or become chronically infected, surgery may be necessary.  One of the most common reasons to perform a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) is because of recurrent infections.  If your child has had infection after infection, and meets the appropriate criteria, you may decide with your doctor that a T&A is necessary.  Another reason to perform this surgery is if we are concerned about obstructive sleep apnea.  This dangerous condition occurs when the tonsils and adenoids are enlarged, blocking off the child’s breathing during sleep.  If there is long pausing between breaths, gasping for air, or a series of other symptoms, this is a sign of sleep apnea and surgery may be necessary to help your child breathe better during sleep.  Untreated sleep apena in children can lead to problems with facial skeletal and dental growth, heart and lung problems, and issues with brain growth and development.  Our doctors use the most up to date technology to safely and effectively remove the tonsils and adenoids.  This requires a general anesthesia, but for most children is a same-day outpatient procedure. 

Benefits: Decrease chronic sore throat pain, decrease number of throat infections or tonsillitis, improve breathing, reduce snoring, treat pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Click here to read the All About Tonsils and Tonsillectomy ebook.

Sometimes our children may fail a hearing test through school, or at their newborn evaluation.  If this is the case, our doctors will work to identify the cause, and work together with our team of doctorate level audiologists to perform an age appropriate hearing evaluation. 

Sniffling, sneezing, and cough may be signs of allergy.  Allergy can frequently lead to problems with the ears and ear infections, as well as sinus and nasal problems, and asthma.  Our experienced allergy team can perform pain-free allergy testing on even young children.  This is helpful to help explain the cause of the child’s symptoms, and to help direct the most appropriate treatment.