Hi & welcome!
I had jaw pain & ear aches (without an infection) for years which I thought might’ve been wisdom teeth too, before I was diagnosed with ES, from a panoramic x-ray & at a dental clinic similar to you!
There’s lots of info in here about what the common ES symptoms are & what might be causing them:
ES Information: Common Symptoms And Possible Explanations For Them - Welcome / Newbies Guide to Eagle Syndrome - Living with Eagle
The styloids can cause irritation or compression of the Trigeminal nerve & the Facial nerve, which can cause jaw pain, tooth aches, and the zapping sensations which you describe. It could be that the dental cleaning you had has aggravated the nerves too which is why you’re sore, although lots of members do also have TMJD alongside ES; did your dentist mention anything about that? I do still get flare ups of my Trigeminal nerve when I have my teeth cleaned at the dentist, it usually wears off after a few days…
Migraines are also common with ES, although obviously can have other causes.
Some members have the ligaments which run from the styloids to the hyoid bone calcify as well, and if they’re calcified around the hyoid bone it can cause crackling or snapping sensation, or the feeling of something clicking or catching in the throat when you swallow. That could possibly be what you’re feeling around your thyroid, although it could be something with the thyroid as you have issues with that. Quite a few members have had calcified thyroid nodules too…
If you’re able to get your GP to refer you for a CT scan, it would need to be from the base of the skull down to the hyoid bone, then this would show the styloids better and also if the ligaments are calcified further along. The radiologist should be asked to evaluate the scan for ES, making a note of the length and angle of the styloids and if there is any calcification. If you are able to get a CT with contrast, that would show if there’s any compression of the blood vessels; you mention that you get vertigo when you turn your head and that your ear feels blocked, so these could be from a blood vessel being temporarily compressed with your head in a certain position. Not everywhere does them, but some members have been able to get CT scans done dynamically, so with their head turned , which if you have symptoms in a certain position can show what’s going on. It’s not done very often though.
Hopefully you could be referred to one of the doctors on our list, or if they’re too far away, an ENT, Otolaryngologist, Skull base surgeon, head and neck vascular neurologist or head & neck cancer surgeon would hopefully help- treatment in Australia has been quite hard to get for our other members though, so it might all take a little while!
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