Confused

Hiya,

Please can anyone who could/can feel their styloid in their mouth tell me does it hurt to touch.

I saw ENT yesterday who could feel my styloid by my tonsil area but he said because i didnt jump out of my seat when he pushed firmly that he doesn't think its eagles. I have a million other symptoms which he said he didnt think were related either. Hes put me in for a 3d scan to tell him more.

I assumed being able to feel your styloid was a sign of it being elongated but i got the impression yesterday thats not the case??? Can anyone answer that as i cant remember exactly what he said after he said probably not eagles.

Thanks

So sorry, yes it can still be Eagles, Eagles is a calcified or ossified elongated styloid, it also can be a problem with the stylohyoid ligament and or the hyoid bone. Dr. Eagle only defined the first part, but many of us are afflicted in one of those three areas. So Eagles syndrome is the actual fact, the pain is caused by the nerves that it affects. You can have Eagles with no symptoms. However, no one with no symptoms even gets this far, they aren't looking for answers. I see you live in Sussex UK. We try to find doctors from our members who have been successfully treated.

Please let us and your fellow British sufferers know on this website if you find a good doctor who treats you. I am collecting these names and have a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, we only have one doctor listed in UK. So his name is Rogan Corbridge in Reading UK, I am attaching my spreadsheet of doctors. I am on a mission to find more doctors for our members, but I need everyone's help. If you can find someone, please share, if not I have given you a place to start, I hope. I also hope you can open the spreadsheet below, I don't suppose everyone uses Xcel,but that was originally my own list of doctors.

352-EaglesSyndromeDoctors.xls (38.5 KB)

You don't have to necessarily have pain when the styloid is touched. Some people do, some people don't. Some people can't even feel the styloid. Like Emma said, it all depends on what nerves it's touching - and that differs for lots of us. Many of us have similar symptoms, but there are some not-so-common symptoms also.

Thanks for your replies, it was the Dr you already have listed (i got him from this website) so unfortunately i can not add to your list.

Out of interest can anyone suggest why the dr thinks its not likely that things like numb left side of face, blurry eye, full feeling in ear, sore throat, clicking in throat, pressure in my head, neck pain, shoulder pain etc would not be caused by this. I would have thought it would be the Dr suggesting to me that these things can be caused my nerve compression etc from a styloid depending on placement.

Do you think its because he couldnt feel the left styloid and my symptoms are the worst on left coupled with the fact i dont have massive pain when palpitating?

Cost of scan is another £380 on top of the £160 to see him plus another £100 for the next consultation to get scan results, im in 2 minds whether to bother or not because frankly its my symptoms that bother me and if the symptoms arent caused by styloid then im not bothered if its there or not also ive been really miserable since i went thinking id found the answer and to be told its probably not the case.

Can a normal person feel their styloid through their mouth, i mean if i walked around the street and asked random people to feel would anyone else feel theirs or does it need to be elongated to feel it.

Hello, Charlie.

I am not completely sure, but I would have to say that the styloid process can usually be palpated, just that it doesn't cause pain in most people with ES and probably not at all in those without. I say that because one doctor felt mine and said that it feels a little stiff in that area, but not unusual. Not really sure what that means. As for your other question about why he doesn't think your symptoms are from ES -- you are in the right place. This site is filled with people with the same complaint. I am going through the same thing myself right now. My last doctor (oral maxillofacial surgeon) said that these symptoms are glossopharyngeal and trigeminal neuralgia (and I agree, but that is a symptom -- not a diagnosis) and more likely caused by a brain tumor or multiple sclerosis than ES -- EVEN THOUGH HE WAS LOOKING RIGHT AT THE XRAY OF MY CALCIFIED LIGAMENT! Not to mention that I have been having these symptoms for 25 years! I'm pretty sure a brain tumor of MS would have killed me by now! I just can't explain why they will go through so much trouble to find ANY OTHER explanation other than the one that is staring them in the face! Best of luck to you in your quest!

Hi There,

About 15 yrs ago I felt a lump in my throat when I turned my head left..( I had my tonsils removed when I was seven) I stuck my finger in my tonsil area and felt a very hard bump...Since being an ex smoker I freaked out!!! I went to a ENT who could feel it as well and not sure what it was set me up for exploratory surgery. When I woke up from anesthesia I was greeted by him informing me that he did nothing because " he had not seen a case of Eagle's syndrome in 35 years...and would need to do an x-ray to diagnose. Needless to say ...That's what it is. I don't have any pain when I palpate it but, it has grown and I find it interfering with swallowing and breathing at night if the pillow is touching my throat. So... not sure what to do? No pain... but, affecting normal routines.... Point being...you don't have to have direct pain to have Eagle's.

Best,

Suzanne

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