Surgery

There are two submandibular glands underneath the jaw line - one on the left and one on the right side of the neck. Their job is to secrete saliva into the mouth that keeps the mouth and throat moist, and aids digestion.

There are 3 main problems that can occur in these glands:

1)the duct that leads into the mouth can get blocked and saliva backs up into the gland causing swelling.

The gland can be massaged when it swells up, and you can suck on a slice of lemon to promote the flow of saliva. If this does not work, and the stone is palpable in the floor of the mouth, it is possible to do a small operation (under general anaesthetic) to make a cut over the stone and remove it from the duct. Alternatively, it is possible to insert a fine camera, into the duct, to remove…

You may need a hearing test (audiogram) and pressure test (tympanogram) so you can contact my audiologists to book these tests. The pressure test will tell me if there is any fluid behind the ear drum (glue ear) or problems with regulating the pressure behind the ear drum.

You can book a hearing test at the Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital with Audiological Specialist Care. Their email address is  clinics@audiologycare.co.uk.

They also provide private hearing aids, so you can discuss this with them.

Once you have had your hearing test done, they can send me the results and you can book a follow up appointment so that we can go through the results together and come up with a plan.

Hearing loss can be devastating and socially isolating. We forget how much we rely on good hearing, day to day, whether it be at work or relaxing listening to our favourite music. If you come to see me, I would ask you how long you have had hearing loss for, which ear is affected, do you have ear pain, noises in the ears (tinnitus), spinning (vertigo), loud noise exposure over prolonged periods of time, do your ears feel blocked, do you have pressure in the ears, or have you taken any medicines which might have affected your hearing or balance.

I would examine your ears to check if there is any wax blocking, which is probably the simplest reason for having hearing loss. I would remove the wax. I would also check to see if there is any infection in the ear canal, perforation of the ear drum, and…

Tinnitus means noises in the ears, heard when there are no physical noises in your environment. Tinnitus is normally associated with a hearing loss, which you may or not be aware of. Most people experience tinnitus at some point or other, e.g. after a loud concert. When you come to see me, I would ask you if you hear the tinnitus in one or both ears, get any spinning (vertigo), had loud noise exposure over prolonged periods of time, and if you have taken any medicines which might have affected your hearing or balance lately.

I would then examine your ears. At its simplest, tinnitus can be caused by wax blocking the ears. This causes deafness, and results in tinnitus. If I remove the wax, it might help eliminate the tinnitus. I would also check for any infection, perforation of the ear drum, and fluid behind the ear drum…