I have not received any answer to my postings, but that's OK. I know when you guys notice me, you will all come at the same time. :) I was told that there is no known cause for our disease. However, I see kind of a pattern here. Many of us have had neck or head surgeries at some point. I have all the cervicals fussed, some have had tonsilectomies, brain surgeries, tyroid surgeries... A friend of mine told me that it seems like a reaction of some kind...like the body trying to protect itself after an invassive procedure. Do you think this correlation between neck and head surgeries and ES is just a coincidence??
I was having a lot of discomfort in throat area. Feeling like something there. Like pressure. Had MRI. That’s when the thyroid nodule was seen as well as the calcification of ligaments. But the dr sort of made a nothing out of it. Said eagle syndrome not anything too worrisome. But I had a thyroidectomy because of the nodule. The eagle syndrome was found incidentally. I never had tonsillectomy
I was told and read that ES could be hereditary bone growth; the result of some form of body trauma like from a car accident like whiplash, herniated discs and back problems; past surgeries in the head, neck, jaw, mouth or throat area (example, tonsillectomy, dental, etc.); and even a correlation with menopause. Remember, there are many people with elongated styloid processes that never have any symptoms or problems. We are the unfortunate ones that have had something happen to us to cause this to be a life altering problem.
Although there is not much evidence for a hereditary link, my mother and older sister had all the same symptoms I had. Ear issues(feeling like they are plugged) dizziness, vertigo, neck pain. I will never know because they have both passed away. My other msister has them 28mm long with no symptoms. I had a tonsillectomy 45 years ago I stopped taking Calcium when I found out about Eagles. We may never figure it out.
My cardiologist has suggested that the fusions in my neck and Chiari decompression could have set this off.
I have not asked my neurosurgeon yet. I see him October 7 to discuss all this.
My PT believes that surgery in the area could have increased the muscle tone of some muscles and is contributing to some of the compression. On my worst side, the Digastic muscle is also compressing the jugular along with C1 and the styloid. He is going to do a gentle hyoid release to try to get some tension off the area. Can't hurt. That can't change the bones though, I don't think. Unless the styloid can be eased away from the jugular once the muscle tension decreases. I see him tomorrow and will get him to explain further.
I’ve had neck injury/whiplash twice, damage to c6-7 vertebrae, bone spurs in feet, kidney stones, a cyst in my mouth as a toddler, still have my tonsils, bone growths in mouth apparently from grinding or clenching teeth, pre-menopausal
female 47 yrs old