Are ENT departments now called head and chest?

[Florence282]

I've been having problems with my voice, GP has referred me to the ENT department however I've just had a phone call booking me an appointment in the Head and Chest department. Its on Thursday so I don't think I'll receive the letter in time. Just wondering if its a name change as its my throat I've got issues with not my head or chest.

Bump

They could be - NHS is working to demystify a lot of their terms and acronyms so they're more understandable. Head and chest is simpler than ENT.

To me it sounds like they are all just arranged into the 1 department

Go along on Thursday, see the specialist and if you’re in the wrong place they will probably be able to arrange at least basic tests so that a follow up won’t be wasted

Also a shortage of head and neck specialists, so the team might have merged so that they are under the same governance structure. There is no point having a bunch of behind the scenes people doing the same thing for a tiny service

Thanks for the replies. I'll see what Thursday brings.

I have no inside information, but I'd guess ENT is part of the head and chest dept and that some consultancy was paid a fortune to come up with that

Not sure
Go in to see the ENT team anyway. Ask for their advice etc and insist on having tests done.

That makes no sense, unless they're really dumbing things down. Could you have misheard?

Is it a cancer pathway referral? The two week wait clinic is called the Head and neck cancer service.

CorrBlimeyGG oh bugger, there's been no mention of cancer but I only saw my gp last week so maybe that's why I've been referred so quickly. It was definitely the head and chest department. I really don't think I've got cancer though, gp mentioned it could be something called dysphonia, where the muscles around my larynx are contracting which is sporadically effecting my voice.

I've just googled head and neck and yes that's what they're now calling ENT at this trust (not head and chest!). Thanks for the replies.

FWIW OP, that does sound like spasmodic dysphonia.

As above I suspect you are being seen in a 'Head and Neck clinic', not Head and Chest. These are run by ENT or maxillofacial surgeons.

You may well have been referred on a 2 week wait /suspected cancer pathway- as new onset hoarse voice is one of the criteria for referral- please don't worry though the majority of people referred on such pathways do NOT have cancer.

They will examine you thoroughly, including using a fine camera inserted through your nose to look at your larynx/vocal cords.

Firstbornunicorn do you know much about SD? It's turned my life upside down, causing me huge anxiety.

Annietheacrobat thanks for the information.

@Florence282 are you having little “blips” in your voice where you’ll be talking and your vocal folds contract so you just suddenly can’t speak?

I know a bit about it as I studied it in uni and saw a bit of it on placement. I didn’t actually end up in an SLT career, though, so my knowledge might be rusty!

Yes, it started 3 or 4 years ago, just walking with a friend and my voice suddenly felt tight and strangled and sounded really weird, like a teenage boys breaking. It's happened more and more frequently since then but in the last 6 months has got much worse and its now happening pretty much daily. If I quickly pop a strepcil in my mouth it passes within a couple of minutes but it's a horrible feeling and really embarrassing, it's affecting my confidence massively.

Could be. In my hospital the directorate is called Head and Neck. That encompasses ENT, oral maxillo facial service and community dental

I work in an ENT department. We are called ENT and Head and Neck is what we call our sub-specialty cancer service.

Like @Umbongoumbongo999 at my trust, ENT surgeons often run general ENT clinics in the head and neck department.

If you have any voice problem at all, that's dysphonia. There are lots of different causes.

Spasmodic dysphonia is a very rare type of voice problem where the vocal cords have spasms. It's so rare that I wouldn't worry about it, deal with it if that turns out to be what it is. From what you're describing I would be surprised if it was that.

It might be muscle tension dysphonia which is a voice problem where your voice is affected by different types of tension around the throat and voice box. If that's the answer, you'll probably get a referral to speech therapy.

Really hope you get a helpful answer x

PermanentTemporary thankyou, that's actually massively reassuring to hear, I think I'll sleep a bit better between now and Thursday after hearing that!

It's unbelievable the things we all take for granted. I've never considered the problems faced by those who struggle to speak before. I've gone from confident and chatty to anti social and almost a bit reclusive in the space of 6 months! I think once I've got an explanation I'm going to have to get back out there and really push myself to find my confidence again, to own the problem and somehow over come it because I really don't want to withdraw from society like this.

That's what speech therapy is there for. If they don't suggest a referral, ask for one. Voice problems are so personal and cut so deep. X

Did you get a diagnosis OP? I'm currently looking into spasmodic dysphonia myself. I think I've had it for 30 years. All my adult life I've found talking excruciatingly stressful and I struggle to produce speech properly unless I'm drinking alcohol. Apparently alcohol medicates this disorder. I've raised it before but never really found help. I've just ended up organising my life so I never speak to anyone unless I'm drinking or I can do it in very short bursts.