Best Throat Doctor & Throat Specialist in Dubai

Quick answer

Who treats throat problems in Dubai, and when should you see a throat specialist?

Dr. Muhammad Jabbr is a Consultant ENT (ear, nose and throat) and Head and Neck Surgeon who treats throat problems. He sees patients at Medcare Hospital Al Safa, Dubai. He checks voice, swallowing, tonsil and reflux problems, as well as neck lumps. Book a check if your voice stays hoarse for over three weeks or if food seems to stick on the way down. Call 998 if you have trouble breathing or cannot swallow your saliva.

Your throat carries food and drink, lets air reach your lungs and gives you your voice. When something goes wrong there, you feel it quickly.

Looking for a throat specialist in Dubai? Here you will learn which parts of the throat an ENT doctor looks after, how a small camera shows the voice box, and how to tell a routine problem from an urgent one. You will also meet Dr. Muhammad Jabbr, Consultant ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon at Medcare Hospital Al Safa.

Most throat problems are common and treatable. A specialist visit aims to find the cause, rule out anything serious and give you a clear plan.

From tonsils to voice box: what a throat specialist in Dubai covers

A throat specialist is an ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor who looks after the area from the back of the mouth down to the voice box and the top of the food pipe. The branch of ENT that focuses on the voice box, swallowing and upper airway is called laryngology. Our laryngology (throat and voice) page explains it in more detail.

The work falls into six main areas:

The voice box (larynx). Hoarseness, a weak or breathy voice, or a voice that tires easily.
Swallowing. Food sticking, coughing when you eat or drink, or pain when you swallow.
The airway. Noisy breathing or breathlessness caused by a narrowing in the voice box or windpipe.
Tonsils and adenoids. Repeated tonsil infections, large tonsils, tonsil stones and snoring linked to big tonsils, in adults and children.
Reflux in the throat. When stomach contents rise as far as the throat, you may clear your throat a lot or feel mucus that never shifts. Many people with this type of reflux (laryngopharyngeal reflux) have no heartburn at all.
Lumps and swellings. Lumps inside the throat, on the vocal cords, or in the neck.

These parts sit close together, so one problem often affects another. Reflux, for example, can irritate the voice box and leave you hoarse.

Which throat symptoms need a specialist?

A scratchy throat during a cold is normal. Book a check when a symptom outstays the cold, keeps coming back or simply does not feel right. For example:

A voice that has stayed hoarse or changed for over three weeks.
Food or tablets that seem to stick on the way down.
Throat pain that keeps returning or does not settle.
A constant sense that something is caught in your throat.
Tonsil infections several times a year.
Noisy breathing, especially in a child.
A neck swelling in an adult that has not gone down within three weeks.

Having one of these signs does not usually mean something serious. Often the cause is simple, and a quick check can save weeks of worry.

How is the throat examined? A simple guide to laryngoscopy

The voice box sits low in the neck, out of sight. A torch and a tongue depressor cannot show it properly. So throat specialists use laryngoscopy, a short camera test done in the clinic while you are awake.

Flexible laryngoscopy

This is the most common way to see the voice box in clinic. A numbing and decongestant spray may go into one nostril first. Then a slim, bendy scope slides gently along the floor of the nose and looks down onto the voice box. You breathe normally the whole time. The doctor may ask you to hold a long "ee" sound, sniff or swallow, to watch how your vocal cords move.

Rigid laryngoscopy and stroboscopy

Sometimes the doctor uses a straight scope through the mouth instead, while gently holding your tongue forward. When the voice is the main problem, a flashing light called stroboscopy may be added. It makes the fast vibration of the vocal cords look slowed down, so small changes on the cord edges are easier to spot.

What happens after the scope?

You can often watch the recording and talk through the findings straight away. If the spray numbed your throat, hold off on food and hot drinks for about an hour, until normal feeling is back.

What other tests might you need?

Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may also suggest:

A swallowing assessment, such as a camera test while you swallow, or an X-ray swallow study.
Neck ultrasound to look at a lump, the lymph glands or the thyroid.
Fine needle aspiration (FNA), where a very thin needle takes a few cells from a lump for testing.
CT or MRI scans to see deeper structures.
A check under general anaesthetic, if a growth in the throat needs a closer look or a small sample (biopsy).

Many people need none of these. Extra tests make sense only when the answer could change your treatment.

How are throat problems treated?

Treatment depends on the cause. It usually starts with the simplest steps.

Simple changes and advice. Drinking more water, stopping smoking or shisha, and avoiding late, heavy meals can ease many throat and reflux symptoms.
Medicines. These may include reflux medicine, nasal sprays for post-nasal drip, or antibiotics when a bacterial infection is likely.
Therapy. Voice or swallowing therapy with a speech and language therapist can help when the muscles are not working well together.
Procedures and surgery. Examples include removing the tonsils for repeated infections or blocked breathing (see our tonsillectomy page), removing a vocal cord growth under a microscope, or treating some throat lesions with a laser. Read more about ENT laser surgery.

A lump needs its own pathway, starting with a clear diagnosis. Our neck lump specialist page shows how lumps are checked, and plenty prove to be harmless. When tests do show cancer, treatment is planned with a wider team. Our head and neck cancer surgery page outlines the options.

What Dr. Muhammad Jabbr offers for throat care

Dr. Jabbr is a Consultant ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon in the ENT Department of Medcare Hospital, Al Safa.

Qualifications. MD, MS, DOHNS (England), European Board ORL-HNS and Arab Board ORL-HNS.
Experience. Over two decades of ENT practice and more than 3,000 ENT procedures.
Throat and neck under one doctor. His head and neck training means he can assess a hoarse voice, a reflux throat or a neck lump.
Children and adults. He sees children with large tonsils or noisy breathing, and adults with voice and swallowing problems.
Reviews. A 4.9 rating on Google from 406 reviews.

He aims to explain what he finds in plain words and agree each step with you. It is a big part of why he is often named among the best throat specialists in Dubai.

When is a throat problem urgent?

A few throat problems need emergency care the same day, not a clinic booking. Call 998 for an ambulance or go straight to an emergency department if you have:

Difficulty breathing, or a harsh, high-pitched sound when you breathe in (stridor).
Drooling because you cannot swallow your saliva.
Fever with a neck swelling that is growing fast, or a jaw you cannot open.
Sudden swelling of the tongue, lips or throat.
Fresh bleeding from the throat, or coughing up blood.

Some signs are less urgent but still need an ENT appointment within a week or two. These include streaks of blood in your saliva, unplanned weight loss, and ear pain on one side that comes with throat pain.

Book an appointment

You can see Dr. Muhammad Jabbr at the ENT Department, Medcare Hospital, Hadiqa Street, Al Safa 1, Dubai. To book a throat check, pick a time on the Medcare booking page or call +971 52 751 7811.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I need separate doctors for my voice, tonsils and swallowing?

Usually not. An ENT surgeon can assess all of these, along with the neck. If you need voice or swallowing therapy, you may also work with a speech and language therapist.

Is a laryngoscopy the same as a stomach endoscopy?

No. A laryngoscopy looks at the throat and voice box. It is done awake in the clinic and is over in a few minutes. A stomach endoscopy (gastroscopy) goes down into the stomach and is usually done with sedation. Some people with swallowing or reflux symptoms need both.

Which throat problems in children should an ENT check?

Common reasons include repeated tonsil infections, large tonsils with heavy snoring, a voice that stays hoarse, and noisy breathing. Noisy breathing in a baby should be checked promptly. Our children's ENT page has more detail.

Can a throat specialist help with snoring?

Often, yes. Snoring can come from the soft palate, the tonsils or the base of the tongue, and sometimes from a blocked nose. An ENT check shows where the narrowing may be. If your partner notices pauses in your breathing, or you feel very sleepy by day, a sleep study may be advised.

How do I know if my throat lump feeling is serious?

This feeling is common and is often linked to reflux, post-nasal drip or tight throat muscles. Food usually goes down normally. Get it checked if it stays, gets worse, sits on one side, or comes with pain on swallowing, weight loss, voice change or blood in your saliva. A short scope test often settles the question.

Next steps for a troublesome throat

Most throat symptoms have a cause that can be found and treated. If your voice, swallowing, breathing or tonsils have bothered you for weeks, a look at the voice box is a sensible first step. Dr. Muhammad Jabbr can examine you and agree a plan with you.