Hello, I was so glad to find this online community and have been following along awhile hoping for answers. I am 37 and for over 5 years I have had reoccurring pain in my ears, then in my jaw, then electric like pains in the front and side of my neck. Now I get shooting pain in the back of my throat, shooting pain at the back of my tongue, mostly always on the left side and once in awhile on the right. My lymph nodes feel swollen on the left side too and I wonder if it is tonsil related too. Lately I have pain under the left of my jaw towards the front too.
For years doctors told me it is TMJ, and while I do grind my teeth it feels like so much more than that. The pain used to come and go but now it is almost constant.
Over the years I have had many mri’s and ct scans trying to understand, the most recent with contrast. Last year a doctor brought up eagle syndrome and I sure hope to have an answer soon. My next dr apmt isn’t for awhile so I was hoping someone might be able to help me understand my images to see if it could be eagle syndrome. 2 doctors said it might be but that it would be bilateral so thats unlikley. I really appreciate any help!!
@Coco1 - Welcome to our forum! I’m sorry you’re having so much pain, & that it’s been going on for so long. Bilateral ES is not uncommon. Many of our forum members have or had bilateral ES. The symptoms you listed are consistent with symptoms we know can be caused by ES, & after looking at your images, it looks possible that your stylohyoid ligament(s) & possibly hyoid bone are the cause of yours. The pain you have is caused by nerves in your neck. Swollen lymph nodes & a very sore throat can also go along w/ ES. If the styloids are very curved, they can poke into the tonsil area in the throat so that could be why you’re feeling pain in your tonsil area. I had pain under my left jaw & could actually feel my styloid under there. It was a hard lump, & I thought it was an inflamed lymph node or salivary gland.
The first picture you posted is the best. Do you have a similar picture of the other side? I can’t really see anything helpful in the 2nd & 3rd pictures.
What I noticed is your styloid doesn’t look very long but you have a calcified section of stylohyoid ligament which is pretty thick so that could be contributing to your symptoms. The greater horn(s) of your hyoid bone also look quite long, nearly touching your spine. They can also cause symptoms when they are too long (Hyoid Bone Syndrome). The last observation is that you appear to have significant forward head posture which is caused by your cervical spine straightening out. It has lost its natural lordotic curve. When the cervical curve is gone, the styloids & stylohyoid ligaments, if calcified, sit much closer to the nerves & vascular tissues in the neck & are much more likely to cause ES symptoms.
The lordotic curve can be restored through gentle neck exercises & physical therapy, but it’s a slow process & requires dedication to do so. There are also neck orthotics such as the Denneroll that can help restore the lordotic cervical curve: Cervical Combination Order
Here’s a discussion that has good information about exercises that can help, too:
I annotated your first image to show you the styloid, stylohyoid ligament, & greater horn of your hyoid that could all be contributing to your symptoms. You can see how straight your cervical vertebra are in that picture.
Wow this is way more helpful than anyone else has been. Thank you so much!! Here is a photo of the left side too, I meant to add before. I am so excited to check into all of these suggestions!
I was also going to ask if anyone notices the pain flaring up when sick with a cold or allergies? Maybe they aren’t related but sure makes the pain worse, maybe because of inflammation pushing on the nerves?
I agree with everything that @Isaiah_40_31 has said, she’s covered it all as usual! Looking at the new image you posted, the styloid & calcified ligament look longer, & it also looks like there’s not that much of a gap between it & the C1 process, which can cause symptoms as blood vessels & nerves can get compressed between the two, although it may just be the angle… It’s certainly worth seeing someone with experience with ES if you’re able!
It might also be worth asking your doctor if your thyroid cartilage is normal, as it looks quite calcified too, but might be wrong about that…
@Coco1 - I agree w/ @Jules about the thyroid cartilage, too, but I’ve seen some similar thyroid cartilage images & was told they were normal. It’s worth asking about though.
Thank you! Might explain why my symptoms have gotten so much worse since moving to a rainy country! Really really appreciate all of your help! I am finally feeling hopeful about this situation!
