Blog

Children may seem like they are always at the doctor for one reason or another. Did you know that ear infections are one of the common reasons children have to see their doctor? If it seems like children get more ear infections than adults, that’s because they do. An ear infection occurs when bacteria or… Read More

Tossing and turning all night? Suffering from insomnia won’t only cause you to wake up tired, but it could increase your risk of developing hearing loss. What’s more, if you already suffer from the symptoms of tinnitus (ringing in the ears), insomnia can worsen these symptoms as well. Keep reading to learn why insomnia affects… Read More

Sniffles? Check. Aching body and joints? Check. Sore throat and post-nasal drip? If this sounds a little too familiar, you may have a cold or the flu. But when should you see your doctor? The answer may surprise you, so keep reading to find out more! Is it the common cold or the flu? When… Read More

With all the news buzz and products that claim to stop snoring, you’d think it was a modern-age problem. But there is evidence that snoring and its ill effects have been plaguing people for millennia. There is evidence of snoring going back 3500 years to the ancient Egyptians, who were known to have treated snoring… Read More

We’ve come a long way with this life-saving device. CPAP machines have been steadily improving since the first commercialized CPAP was introduced in the 1980s. The devices have become much smaller, quieter, much more comfortable, and more effective in treating sleep apnea. To see just how far CPAP technology has come, let’s peek back in… Read More

Dr. Michael Friedman is one of the worlds’ leading thyroid and parathyroid experts and surgeons. He has authored and published numerous articles and textbooks and has lectured on thyroid and parathyroid surgery all around the world. Dr. Friedman has performed more than 5200 thyroid procedures. Here are some of the questions patients often ask. Does… Read More

Fast Facts: Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. with an annual cost in excess of $18 billion. In a U.S. survey, more than half (54.6 percent) of the people reported indicated that they had positive reactions to one or more allergens. Q&A with Dr. Ayesha Siddiqi, Allergist at Chicago… Read More

Ahhh …. summer. The great outdoors. Picnics, swimming, sports, festivals, fireworks! It’s a fantastic time of the year, especially for us Midwesterners. But with all the fun and fanfare, it can be easy to forget the “hidden dangers,” that is, the sounds of summer. Lawnmowers, concerts, cheering crowds – prolonged exposure to all of these… Read More

The eustachian tube (named after Italian physician Bartolomeo Eustachio) is a small passage extending from the back of the nose to the middle ear. You have one for each ear. Its function is to regulate pressure between your ear and the external environment. Ideally, the pressure is balanced. The eustachian tube opens when you swallow… Read More

Season 16 of The Voice has a winner, and her story might surprise you. Marlyn Jarmon, 26 of Frisco, TX blew everyone away with her performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the season finale. But her heavenly voice and pitch is even more spectacular when you consider that Marlyn is hearing impaired. Chronic ear infections… Read More

Let’s just say “ENT” Think about your routine interactions with the environment. Could you breathe easier today? Were you able to walk a straight line? Was it no trouble to talk with and listen to your friends? We usually don’t think about such things unless there’s a problem. Issues with our ears, nose, and throat,… Read More

Parasomnias can pose a real danger. A teenager is found sleeping in a tower crane 130 feet above the ground, having walked across a narrow metal beam to get there. A man gives his roommate a nightly play-by-play of his dreams as they occur. A sleeping man drives across town, chokes his stepfather and stabs… Read More

Romeo Shoshoo, a Chicago ENT patient, suffered through daily episodes of falling asleep suddenly, even while walking

Tertiary hyperparathyroidism occurs more than primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism but it is rare and is seen in patients with renal disease and post kidney transplant. Because it is a rare problem, guidelines for surgical treatment and prognosis have not been well repeated in the past. This study establishes guidelines for parathyroid surgical intervention. In a… Read More

Can an algorithm outperform an experienced physician? The answer might be, “yes,” but with a caveat. Findings from a recent study (Zhang, B, et al.) published in Thyroid suggest that a machine learning algorithm could be superior in specificity and accuracy than an experienced radiologist using ultrasound technology in diagnosing thyroid nodules in patients. Machine… Read More

When you suffer from allergies, the symptoms you experience are the result of your body’s immune system reacting to allergens in the environment. When you breathe in these allergens, your immune system forms antibodies that trigger a chemical response causing symptoms like stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, or itchy eyes. These familiar allergy symptoms are… Read More

The second edition of the textbook, Sleep Apnea and Snoring: Surgical and Non-Surgical Therapy, edited by Chicago ENT medical director Dr. Michael Friedman and Dr. Ofer Jacobowitz is scheduled for release May 16, 2019.

Sleep apnea is more than just snoring and restless sleep. It has been tied to increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, weight gain, impotence, and more. Despite these health complications, many people are reluctant to take steps to treat it. First, denial that they have the disease interferes. And next, they are… Read More

While most everyone is familiar with kidney stones and gallstones, salivary stones (also called) sialoliths are also a real disorder. They are caused by a buildup of calcium in the salivary gland or duct Salivary stones may remain in the gland, unnoticed. They become problematic when they partially or totally block the natural flow of… Read More

The parathyroid glands are a small but mighty part of the endocrine system that are very important to your health. Typical people have four parathyroid glands, a pair on each side of the neck located behind the thyroid. The glands produce a substance called PTH, or parathyroid hormone. PTH is the most important regulator of… Read More