Hi Ducker,
Welcome to our forum! Elongated styloids are not the only thing that can cause ES or ES type symptoms. We have a number of members who have/had calcified stylohyoid ligaments without elongated styloid processes. Because the stylohyoid ligament is attached from the tips of the styloid processes to the lesser horns of the hyoid bone, when they loose their flexibility due to calcification, they become tethers reducing the ability of the hyoid to move as it needs to when you talk, breathe, swallow, cough, sneeze, hiccup, sing, etc. As with elongated styloids, they can also irritate up to 6 of our 12 cranial nerves that share that area of the inner neck.
Another lesser known fact, even by doctors familiar with ES, is that it’s not always the length of the styloids that causes symptoms. A normal length styloid that’s very thick, angled, twisted or pointed can also cause ES symptoms. We’ve also learned that different radiologists & doctors have different opinions of how long the styloids need to be in order for ES to be diagnosed. In general anything longer than 2.54 cm can be considered ES though most doctors won’t diagnose it unless the styloids are 3 cm or longer. It would be worthwhile getting a second opinion on how long your styloids are by having a second medical person view your CT scan.
In case you haven’t seen our Doctors List so you can find someone in your area who knows about ES, here’s the link: https://forum.livingwitheagle.org/t/us-doctors-familiar-with-es-current-list
You may need to scroll to the top of the thread to see the list.
I hope this info helps!