A 46 year old male non-smoker, I have struggled with sinus and upper respiratory infections for most of my adult life. It seemed that seasonal allergies (early spring and late summer) triggered head colds that turned into ear infections, and inevitably bronchitis. At least twice a year I was on a regiment of antibiotics, steroids and decongestants. In 2013, my typical late summer sinus/upper respiratory turned into pneumonia and I found myself in the ER over the Labor Day weekend. Suddenly I was diagnosed with asthma, which was a first, and after a series of tests my pulmonologist concluded that my lungs looked to be in good shape but something was triggering the asthma, and I needed to find out what it was. Through a serious of tests and referrals, we eliminated allergies as a culprit and, after a not so pleasant experience with another ENT, I was referred to Dr. Hoffman by my primary care doctor. I specifically asked my PCP if he could recommend an ENT that wasn’t surgery happy and wasn’t a plastic surgeon, as it seems so many ENTs are these days. My PCP recommended Dr. Joel Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman performed a CT scan on my sinus, reviewed my records from the other specialists and really listened to me when I told him my history. He concluded that I would benefit from surgery that would reduce the turbinates, straighten the septum and place tubes in my ears. I was very impressed with the way Dr. Hoffman recommended and explained the issue and the procedure. He is to the point but does not rush and is very personable, but always shows an appropriate amount of gravitas for someone who is going to go up your nose and cut on you. The surgery went well and as the office staff and PA explained, the recovery was the worst part. No real pain but there was some discomfort. The irrigation, dripping and after-care was really the worst part of the whole process. One week post-op I could really tell that I was breathing more freely. In fact, I started to realize that I didn’t really know how poorly (think restricted) I had been breathing before the surgery. After two months I can report that I am ecstatic with the outcome. I am off all of my asthma and sinus meds. I have more energy than I ever remember having in my adult life and I feel like a new person. I can’t say enough about Dr. Hoffman and the positive results of my surgery!