El otorrino consulta al audioprotesista.

It is a verb here: the third-person singular present of consultar.

So consulta means he/she consults.

Spanish also has a noun la consulta, meaning the consultation or the doctor’s office/consulting room, but in this sentence it is clearly the verb because it comes right after the subject: El otorrino consulta...

Because Spanish uses the personal a before a specific person who is the direct object of the verb.

So:

• a + el = al

That means al audioprotesista is formed from a el audioprotesista.

The a is there because the person being consulted is a person, and the el is the masculine singular article.

If it were a woman, you would say a la audioprotesista.

It marks audioprotesista as the direct object, and specifically as a person.

In this sentence:

• El otorrino = the subject, the person doing the action
• consulta = the action
• al audioprotesista = the person receiving that action

This personal a often has no direct equivalent in English, so it can feel strange at first.

Both are possible, but they are slightly different.

• consultar a alguien = to consult someone
• consultar con alguien = to consult with someone

In other words:

• consultar a focuses more on the person whose advice you seek
• consultar con emphasizes the discussion or exchange

So consulta al audioprotesista is a very natural way to say that the ENT seeks the hearing specialist’s advice.

It is commonly a same-form profession noun, so the word itself usually stays the same for both genders:

• el audioprotesista
• la audioprotesista

The article tells you whether the person is male or female.

The subject is El otorrino.

That is because:

• it comes before the verb in normal Spanish word order
• al audioprotesista is marked with the personal a, which shows it is the object

So the sentence means that the ENT is the one consulting, and the audioprotesista is the person being consulted.

Spanish often uses the definite article with professions or roles when referring to a specific person in context.

So El otorrino is completely normal Spanish. English often leaves out the article in similar situations, but Spanish usually does not.

Yes. El otorrino consulta al audioprotesista is a neutral, standard subject + verb + object sentence.

Spanish can change word order for emphasis, but this version is the most straightforward and natural for a learner to recognize.