I know i have eagles, can feel elongated bone and calsification. Bever been to a doctor, and really dont know where to look. In in raleigh nc. But i was wondering if mine is more lateral and affecting nerves, or if its more vascular and compressive which affects the carotid. I have pain on the one side. Sort of in neckish/throat area. Get dizzy n feel pressure on occasion. Eye pressure in occasion. Sometimes i feel like i have a sharp elongated pain into shoulders n chest like its that long. Sinus problems. Chewing problem, swallowing peoblems. Etc etc… Any main side effects that would pusg it more towards carotid compression.
Watt Eagle, who 'discovered' Eagle Syndrome, defined two types- Classic and Stylocarotid Syndrome. He believed that the Classic Eagle’s Syndrome was seen after pharyngeal trauma or a tonsillectomy, with throat pain, centred around the tonsillar fossa region, difficulty or pain with swallowing, foreign body sensation in the throat, tinnitus, and cervicofacial pain. Stylocarotid Syndrome he identified as being caused by a deviated styloid process (or calcified stylohyoid ligaments) compressing either the External Carotid Artery or the Internal Carotid Artery, causing pain along the distribution of the artery, often giving headache and eye pain, and can be made worse by rotating the neck, or looking up or down. More recent research has shown a lot of patients haven't had a recent tonsillectomy or trauma, but people are still being categorised into the 2 types. Some doctors just treat the patient and don't worry about classifying it as classic or vascular- IMO you can have both anyway- I could feel the styloids in the back of my throat, had pain chewing/ moving tongue, yawning etc, but had vascular symptoms too.
With your symptoms, the chewing and swallowing are the usual ES symptoms, but the dizziness and eye pressure sound more vascular. If you're getting pain down to chest or shoulder it could be compression of one of the arteries, which can irritate the nerves in the artery and send pain along the route of it, or it could be pressing on one of the cranial nerves in the neck region which supplies the shoulder. If it's artery compression you might notice altering your head position makes the dizziness worse- some people have fainted when their neck/ head are in a certain position. The styloids can also affect the jugular veins too- this can cause the pressure to rise inside your head as the blood can't drain away. I had that, and had symptoms of painful ear pressure, pressure in my head and temples, feeling pulsing, pulsatile tinnitus, dizziness and 'brain fog'- feeling spaced out all the time. It was worse with laying flat, and after exercising, and I couldn't lay on the side which was worse either.
The best bet for you is to have a look at the doctors list on the top menu bar, which some members kindly put together, and see if there's anyone near you who is familiar with ES, and ask to be referred to someone. Then you'd need a scan to see how long the styloid processes are, how much calcification in the ligaments there is, and whether there's any vascular involvement. The best scan is a 3D CT scan to show the styloids etc., and for showing blood vessels it needs to be with contrast (they put a dye in to the blood to look for any compression of the blood vessels).
Hope this helps, ask anything else if you need to, and let us know how you get on!
I was diagnosed with ES in Feb. I had all the same symptoms you are describing for many years but never knew what it was. Most of the Dr's just brushed off my symptoms!!! This went undiagnosed for almost 15 years!!! It was finally detected after I had a Barium swallow done. Look for a ENT that is familiar with this condition. The only option I know of is surgery but I am still on the fence regarding the procedure as I have heard it can be very risky. This site is filled with great information for people suffering from this horrid condition. Wishing you all the best. Stay strong!!
I had it happen within a year. I had tonsil stones and would sort of push them out. Then noticed a bone under that area. Looked on the net for a year before i just said screw it and went to ent. He looked at me and said i had an elongated styloid process and that there was possibly calcifications etc etc. that was it and said really nothing to do. Using that i found out about eagles. Which i know i have and no doctor needed now to tell me. I do need to get to a doctor knowing the condition and newd insurance too to help. Its really alot to deal with and 75% of the time im fine. I yawn alot stretching the area and it feels like a bone cracking or sort of the way your back cracks but louder being in my neck. It seems to help a tiny bit. There are tons of symptoms i feel. Hard to swallow and almost choking alot on food. Plus having anxiety makes that worse and alot worse. Thanks for help guys. Being 30 and living with it is hard. Im a tattoo artist and when the lains and fog is there it affects me.
Dr.Gallispe is right by you in Monroe NC he deals with es