Treating Your Family’s Ear, Nose and Throat Conditions
Ear, nose or throat problems can affect people of any age and cause a lot of pain. Remedies may include lifestyle changes, medicines, surgery or a combination of all three. Today, modern treatment techniques can relieve the pain and greatly improve many ear, nose and throat conditions.
Freeman Ear, Nose & Throat Center, one of the most highly regarded otolaryngology/orofacial plastic surgery centers in the country, provides comprehensive treatment of head and neck maladies and exceptional patient care.
Comprehensive ENT Care
Advanced Treatments for Every Condition
For more than two decades, the physicians at Freeman Ear, Nose & Throat Center have delivered progressive treatments for minor problems and the most complicated conditions, including:
Additionally, the center uses the latest equipment and instrumentation and serves as a training ground for future ear, nose and throat doctors in association with the Freeman Graduate Medical Education program and McIntire Medical Education Center.
For the convenience of patients needing hearing aids, assistive listening devices and audiology services, Freeman Ear, Nose & Throat Center shares a building with Freeman Hearing Center.
Inspire® Therapy
Treat Sleep Apnea Without a Mask
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 22 million Americans. When left untreated, OSA can cause vehicle and workplace accidents, worsening mood and memory, risk for obesity, stroke, heart attack and even death. It occurs when the airway collapses during sleep and blocks the flow of oxygen to the brain. The brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes the body up just long enough to take a breath, then falls back to sleep. This cycle repeats throughout the night and causes poor, disruptive sleep.
Freeman Ear, Nose and Throat Center is proud to offer Inspire® therapy, a new treatment option for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This innovative solution can offer relief to sleep apnea sufferers who cannot tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
Inspire® is the only FDA-approved OSA treatment that works inside your body to treat the root cause of sleep apnea. Inspire works inside the body with a patient’s natural breathing process to treat sleep apnea. Mild stimulation opens the airway during sleep, enabling oxygen to flow naturally. The patient uses a small handheld remote to turn Inspire on before bed and off when they wake up.
While you’re sleeping, Inspire monitors every breath you take. Based on your unique breathing patterns, the system delivers mild stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve, which controls the movement of your tongue and other key airway muscles. By stimulating these muscles, the airway remains open during sleep.
The Inspire team at Freeman includes Dr. Kent McIntire (ear, nose and throat specialist), Dr. Grant Pierson (pulmonology specialist) and Dr. Jason Maxfield (sleep medicine specialist). To start the pre-screening process today call 417.736.4869.
To learn more about Freeman Pulmonology visit freemanhealth.com/lung. To learn more about Freeman Sleep Center visit freemanhealth.com/sleep.
What to Expect
For your appointment:
Your doctor will create an individualized care plan, which may include a sleep study or an airway exam. For your initial Inspire consultation, you will need to:
After the initial consultation:
Your doctor will provide next steps including an airway exam:
The safety and efficacy of Inspire was evaluated during the STAR clinical trial. Five-year STAR trial outcomes show patients using Inspire experience significant reductions in sleep apnea events and significant improvements in quality-of-life measures. There have been over 150 peer-reviewed publications on Inspire. These publications show results consistent with those seen in the STAR trial. Inspire was also approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013.
