Best ENT Doctor for Children in Dubai: Signs by Age

Children change fast, and so do their ear, nose and throat problems. A newborn may breathe noisily. A toddler may get one ear infection after another. A school child may snore every night, and a teenager may come home from football with a sore, swollen nose. If you are looking for an ENT doctor for children in Dubai, it helps to know which signs matter at each age.

This is a simple checklist for parents, from birth to the teenage years. One sign on its own is often nothing to worry about. A sign that keeps coming back, or several signs together, is a good reason to see an ENT doctor.

Dr. Muhammad Jabbr, who treats children and adults at Medcare Hospital Al Safa, is one of the best choices for children's ENT care in Dubai.

Babies (0 to 12 months): hearing and breathing

The newborn hearing screen

Most babies born in the UAE have a quick hearing screen before they leave hospital. It is painless and is often done while the baby sleeps. A "refer" result does not mean your baby is deaf. Fluid in the ear after birth, or a restless baby, can affect the result. But the follow-up test matters, so please do not skip it.

At home, watch how your baby reacts to sound:

• A newborn startles or blinks at a sudden loud noise.
• By around 3 months, your baby quietens or smiles when you speak.
• By around 6 months, your baby turns toward sounds and voices.
• By around 9 months, your baby babbles with sounds like "ba-ba" or "ma-ma".
• By around 12 months, your baby responds to their name and may say a first word.

Noisy breathing

Young babies breathe mainly through the nose, so a little mucus can make them sound snuffly. A high, squeaky sound when breathing in, often worse during feeds or crying, can come from a soft, floppy voice box. This often improves as the baby grows, but a doctor should still check it.

Seek urgent care if your baby has pauses in breathing, turns blue or grey, pulls in the skin between or below the ribs, or is too breathless to feed. Book a prompt check if the noise is getting worse or your baby is not gaining weight.

Toddlers (1 to 4 years): ears, snoring and speech

This is the busiest age for ENT visits. Toddlers catch one cold after another at nursery. The tube that drains the middle ear is also short and level at this age, so fluid clears slowly.

Ear infections and glue ear

Signs of an ear infection include fever, ear pulling, crying at night and poor sleep. Many infections settle on their own or with treatment from your paediatrician. Afterwards, fluid can stay behind the eardrum for weeks. This is called glue ear. It often clears by itself, but it can muffle sound while it lasts. Ask for an ENT check if infections are frequent, or if your child still seems hard of hearing after about three months.

Snoring

Loud snoring most nights is not the same as light snoring with a cold. Listen for gasps or pauses. Look for restless sleep, mouth breathing, bedwetting that returns, or tiredness and grumpiness by day. A phone video of a typical night helps at the clinic. You can read more about snoring and sleep apnoea in children, which is often linked to large tonsils and adenoids.

Speech

Clear speech depends on clear hearing. As a rough guide, many children use around 50 words by age 2 and short sentences by age 3. If your toddler is far behind, does not follow simple instructions, or turns the TV up very loud, a hearing test is a sensible first step. Our page on speech delay and hearing loss explains how the two are linked.

School-age children (5 to 12 years): tonsils, sinuses and hearing in class

Tonsils and adenoids

Sore throats are common at this age, and most are caused by viruses. An ENT opinion may help if your child has frequent, well-documented bouts of tonsillitis, misses a lot of school, or has very large tonsils that affect sleep or eating. Large adenoids, at the back of the nose, can cause a blocked nose, mouth breathing, a "bunged-up" voice and snoring.

Sinus problems

Most colds clear within about 10 days. If a runny or blocked nose and a daytime cough last longer than that without improving, or your child gets worse after starting to recover, it may be sinusitis. Allergy and large adenoids can cause similar signs. Read more about sinusitis in children and how it is treated.

Hearing at school

Sometimes a teacher notices first. Watch for these signs:

• Your child often says "what?" or misses instructions.
• They seem dreamy or are called "not listening".
• Marks drop, or they struggle in noisy classrooms.

A hearing test is quick and painless for children. A mild, temporary hearing loss from fluid is common and often treatable.

Teenagers (13 to 18 years): sports injuries and nosebleeds

Nose injuries from sport

Football, basketball and martial arts can all lead to a knock on the nose. Swelling usually hides the true shape for a few days, so an ENT doctor often checks the nose after about 5 to 7 days. If the nose looks bent or breathing is blocked, the bones may be set without an open operation. This only works within a short window, usually about two weeks and often sooner in younger children. Learn more about nasal fracture treatment.

Go to the emergency department straight away if there is a head injury, clear watery fluid from the nose, double vision, bleeding that will not stop, or a soft, painful swelling inside the nose. That swelling can be a blood collection that needs prompt drainage.

Nosebleeds

Nosebleeds are common in teens, especially in dry, air-conditioned rooms. Sit up, lean forward and pinch the soft part of the nose for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not tip the head back. If it is still bleeding after a second round of pressure, get urgent help. Book a check if nosebleeds are frequent or always come from one side. In a teenage boy, one-sided bleeds with a blocked nose on the same side need a prompt ENT check, because a rare growth at the back of the nose can cause these signs.

When should you book an ENT doctor for children in Dubai?

For most coughs and colds, your child's regular doctor can help. Ask for an ENT visit when a problem keeps coming back, lasts longer than expected, or affects sleep, hearing, speech, eating or school.

• Book soon: a missed newborn hearing follow-up, speech delay, repeated ear infections, loud nightly snoring, a blocked nose for weeks, or frequent nosebleeds.
• Book within a few days: a nose that looks bent, or a new one-sided blockage, after a knock or sports injury.
• Seek urgent care now: struggling to breathe, drooling or not able to swallow, swelling or redness around one eye during a cold, high fever with a swollen or stiff neck, sudden hearing loss, or a button battery or small object in the nose or ear.

The paediatric ENT service page covers the children's conditions Dr. Jabbr treats.

Who will see your child?

Your child will be seen by Dr. Muhammad Jabbr, Consultant ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon in the ENT Department at Medcare Hospital, Al Safa. His qualifications include an MD and MS, DOHNS (England), and both the European and Arab Boards in ORL-HNS.

He has more than 20 years of experience and has carried out over 3,000 ENT procedures. He treats adults and children, so brothers, sisters and parents can be seen at the same clinic.

Book an appointment

Did a sign on this checklist sound like your child? Choose a time that suits you through online booking, or phone the clinic on +971 52 751 7811. The clinic is on Hadiqa Street, Al Safa 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Trust what you notice

You know your child better than anyone. If something does not seem right with their hearing, breathing, sleep or speech, trust that feeling. Most of these problems are common and can be managed well.