Dell Children's - Ear, Nose, and Throat Austin Medical Plaza

At Dell Children's - Ear, Nose and Throat Austin Medical Plaza our pediatric otolaryngologists, also known as ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors, deliver advanced care for ENT conditions affecting your child’s ability to hear, smell, breathe through the nose and mouth, taste and swallow. For your family’s convenience, we offer onsite diagnostic testing for some conditions. 

ENTs at Dell Children's specialize in diagnosing and treating:

Airway disorders

• Airway stenosis (narrowing of the airway)

• Laryngeal clefts (opening between the larynx and the esophagus)

• Laryngomalacia (soft larynx)

• Stridor (whistling sound when breathing)

• Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF)

• Tracheostomy (used to insert a breathing tube into the trachea)

Ear conditions

• Ear infections and fluid

• Cholesteatoma (skin cyst growing behind the eardrum)

• Chronic ear pain 

• Dizziness and balance problems

• Eardrum perforations (hole in the eardrum)

• Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

• Hearing loss

• Objects stuck in the ear

• Outer ear abnormalities, including microtia (a malformation of the ear, present at birth)

• Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)

• Swimmer’s ear 

• Trauma injury to the ear

• Tumors

• Wax impactions

• Other conditions of the ear

Feeding and swallowing disorders

• Aspiration (when food and liquids enter the airway while swallowing)
• Breastfeeding support
• Dysphasia (difficulty swallowing)
• Excessive salivation
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Tongue tie

Head and neck conditions

• Branchial cleft anomalies (abnormal tissues formed at the back of the neck)
• Congenital and acquired lesions, including lymph node lesions
• Thyroid gland lesions
• Thyroglossal duct cysts
• Salivary gland lesions
• Vascular malformations

Mouth and throat conditions

• Excessive salivation
• Floor of mouth mass
• Mucocele (mass in the mouth filled with mucus)
• Peritonsillar abscess and retropharyngeal abscess
• Snoring and sleep apnea
• Tonsillitis (inflamed tonsils)
• Tonsil stones

Nose conditions

• Blocked nasal passage
• Broken nose
• Deviated septum
• Hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
• Lacrimal duct cyst
• Nasal obstruction
• Nasal polyps
• Nosebleeds
• Objects stuck in the nose
• Sinus infections (sinusitis)
• Snoring and sleep apnea

Speech and voice disorders

• Hoarseness
• Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis
• Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI)
• Vocal cord paralysis
• Vocal cord nodules

Your child’s doctor starts by listening to you, to better understand your child and your concerns. Tell us about any new symptoms your child is experiencing. By working with you, we provide diagnostic testing to help find the cause of your child’s symptoms. Then, we work with you to create a care plan that’s right for your child. 

Comprehensive hearing (audiology) care

Specialists at Dell Children’s have the expertise to diagnose and treat hearing conditions – from simple to complex. Our care includes hearing evaluations, hearing aid and bone conduction hearing device fittings, device management, and counseling. We work with doctors who specialize in otolaryngology who can provide more advanced care, if needed.

Ear, nose and throat surgery

For some conditions, surgery may be recommended as part of your care plan. ENT doctors are surgical specialists and perform many ENT procedures, including cochlear hearing implantation, thyroid surgery, implanting ear tubes, tonsil removal, sinus surgery and more. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive surgery. With this type of surgery, small incisions are used, which may lead to less pain and a shorter recovery. Your doctor takes the time to explain the procedure to you, and helps you understand what to expect before and after your surgery.