In general, the lifestyle of an ENT is better than that of gen surg, but at times it can be just as bad. ENT residency includes a general surgery internship, which is legendary for its long hours (although this may be improving with the new ACGME resident work requirements). At most ENT programs, call is in house and averages every 4th night for the first two years (PGY2 and 3). The last two years are usually backup call from home. The call is usually better than most general surgery call though, because patients are not as sick and the problems aren't as emergent. The only exceptions to that rule are head and neck cancer patients and airway emergencies. Even facial fractures can usually be fixed in a day or two. At most programs, on-call residents get several hours of sleep more call nights than not. I'm going into ENT, so I haven't explored what call is like for general surgery residents in their more senior years. However, from my medical school experience I got the idea that call was usually in-house all 5 years and could often be very hectic.
As for practice lifestyle, most private practice ENTs do mainly outpatient operations. THeir call is usually shared with a larger group and is usually not that bad. I don't know as much about the practice lifestyle of ENTs vs general surgeons, maybe someone else can comment on this.
