Persistent ear pain , jaw pain , throat pain , neck pain ,sholder pain over 1,3 years

Thanks for the reply Isaiah!! I came to know that we are doing only the ear
only when I was in the CT room. Couldn’t revert at that point and had to go
with it. As you said he tries to rule out eagles syndrome ad believes the
condition cannot happen in 1.5 years the time from my last scan. I got my
results back as sinus infection but I am really not convince that it can
cause Jaw pain.

i’ve been searching whether is it possible that i have this and by reading your post it does seems so because we’re having very much in common… i’m so tired searching for drug reviews (i even searched for hgh reviews) in order to somehow deal with all these pains…

It is verry hard to find drugs that ease your pain. I felt much better with lorazepam , baclofen or mydocalm .But lorazepam was the BEST. This are anxyolitics drugs and there main effect is muscle relaxants. This drugs helped me to continue my life and not to lay in bed all day. Their effect is only temporary and you have to increase the dosage as time passes.
NOT ANY OTHER PAIN KILLERS HELP not even the strongest like gabaran or gabapeptine. I tried like all the pain killers on the market with no luck

It does depend on what’s causing the pain though, so it is different for everyone, and members do need to try different medications for themselves. I’m really glad that you were able to get some pain relief until you found the cause of your pain, and obviously yours was perhaps a different cause than most members here. But medications to help with nerve pain, like Gabapentin, can help some members. It’s worth a try!

So extracting the tonsil stone cured ALL your symptoms? That’s amazing.

I’ve had a tonsil stone lodged deep in the right cavity for a long time, and part of me has long suspected it could be playing a role. But I’m pretty sure if I mentioned this to any ENT on the planet they would scoff at me.

Glad to hear you’re finally better.

After the stone came out, I felt immediate relieve and I immediately knew this was the cause. Symptoms have started to go down gradually not suddenly. I started to feel that the sharp pain in my ear, my neck , jaw, etc. when my head turned right went down. Then the lymph nodes began to shrink. Then began to give up the muscle spasms, the feeling of the globus and all the muscles of the throat that were maximally contracted. Now, after more than 1 month I feel cured but not entirely only 85-90% better. I still have shoulder discomfort. I still have a few strained muscles at the neck, but it does not compare to what it was.
I am feeling worse than tomorrow and batter than yesterday . I hope I will cure 100% as time goes by. I forget to tell you that I am back in the gym since 2 days ago :-))) !!!

That is all EXCELLENT news! So glad your symptoms are leaving & good health is returning & all without the need for surgery! Good for you for being proactive for yourself. You clearly did the right thing for you!

Greetings again to everyone.
Unfortunately, all the symptoms have returned. I removed my tonsils last month and thought I will be cured but I was not that lucky.
Most of the symptoms correspond to eagle syndrome but my doctor says I do not have that.

New Symptoms Occur:

C5 - C8 back spinal pain, especially when lifting the hands and pressing on the spine.
A constant pressure in the neck
I can not sleep on the right side because of my shoulder and ear pain.
Lymph nodes swell again , jugulodigastric and submandibular.
I’m in good physical condition but I feel sick

I dont know what to do next . I am sooo dissapointed

I also feel a tough bone a little behind the right ear, posterior to SCM muscle.

Biopsy came back negative after tonsillectomy . TAHNK GOOD !!

So sorry that your pain is back, that is so frustrating… back to the drawing board- I’ve had a read through your initial post again- did you ever have a CT scan? I couldn’t see a mention of it, sorry if I missed it. If not, then I would try that as it can show the styloid processes & the ligaments if they’re calcified. Maybe then you could push for a diagnosis if anything looks amiss. If you can have a scan, make sure the radiologist evaluates it for ES, & that they look at the length, width & angle of the styloid processes, & look for any calcification of the ligaments. There is research showing that the angle of the styloids can cause symptoms as well as the length. thinking of you…

I agree w/ Jules that you need a CT scan to diagnose Eagle Syndrome. The place you’re pointing on your neck is close to where the styloid anchors although I think it’s a bit more to the interior. However, if yours is extra thick or curved at an odd angle, you could definitely feel it from the outside. I could feel my left one externally under my chin just below the curve of my jawline a little anterior to my earlobe. Your symptoms certainly sound like ES but w/o radiographic evidence it’s hard to diagnose.

Hello Jules and Isaiah !

CT is the last thing I will do because CT and contrast substance are very bad for the body and pose risks of radiation and risk of kidney disease.
I thik i am more scared of CT and contrast than eagle syndrome and pain :slight_smile: .

I had a MRI scan of the cervical spine wich came back normal .

"consulted by: DIACONU EMILIA MRI Patient ID: 100215436 Date: 27.02.2018 09:08:09 CNP 1770725400010
MEDICAL REPORT
MRI of the spinal column regions (cervical, thoracic, lumbar) native Cervical spine rectitude. Hyposemnal T2 degenerative type of cervical discs, which accentuated C4. Discretion of posterior gliding of C3 and C4 vertebrae. The low tendency to the postero-medial C4 protrusion protrusion, with a base of 8mm, having 2mm above the bony plane, centered on the disc space, without medullary or radicular compression. No other compressive intracanal and intraforaminal bilateral elements. Medullary cord with normal signal and morphology. Without bone edema or soft paravertebral parts. There is no osteophyteal osteophyte marrow in the vertebral bodies, which explains an asymmetry of the pharyngeal posterior wall.
Conclusions: - Cervical dysplasia, the most accentuated C4-05, non-compressive.

I was back to my ENT who is going to get me lidocaine infiltration in the tonsilara fossa on Monday, March 12, 2018. So I can find out if the pain comes from the styloid or elsewhere.
What worries me most is strange cervical pain. I mean, I can make 50 pushups without problems, but if I lift my hand to scratch my nose it hurts very bad cervical spine.
My sternocleidomastoidian muscle is swollen on the right side.
Anyone have any of these symptoms?

lifeowner - You don’t need to have a CT scan w/ contrast. My ES was diagnosed easily w/ a regular CT scan - no contrast. The only reason you would do one w/ contrast is if you’re concerned about compression of your jugular vein or carotid artery(ies) as a regular CT won’t show that. I did have vascular symptoms but didn’t need a CT w/ contrast to prove anything. I just waited for surgery to take care of my symptoms which it did.

Based on your MRI, it looks like you do have some disc degeneration & perhaps a bit of disc protrusion at C4. These could be causing you the pain you feel. Nerve pain often radiates from its point of origin so the pain shows up above or below the actual injury site rather than right at the site. It’s possible you can do 50 push-ups w/o pain because your neck is in an extended position, i.e. tipped back a bit, when you do them whereas it’s in a more flexed position (tipped forward a bit), & thus pinching the discs, when you lift your hand to scratch your nose. Try experimenting w/ your head/neck positions to see if you can create or eliminate the neck pain w/ head movement & neck flexion/extension. This may provide you w/ some good information.

As long as you’re not having lots of x-rays/ CTs then the risks from radiation are not that great; unfortunately it is the best way to get diagnosed with ES. As Isaiah says, if you don’t have the vascular symptoms then there’s no need to have the contrast. (Personally speaking, the Intracranial Hypertension symptoms I was getting from compression of the jugular veins were way more dangerous than the risks of the contrast medium; the only other way that IH would’ve been confirmed would have been with a lumbar puncture, which again carries more risk!) I wouldn’t have been able to get surgery without getting this confirmed, & it helped me make an informed choice about whether surgery was necessary.
Also no procedure is without risk- the injection into the tonsillar fossa could go wrong without a skilled doctor, & the ES surgery itself can be a risky procedure, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be some nerve damage- what I’m trying to say is that you have to balance the risks & make the decision for yourself, which you obviously have, but, most members are okay with those risks to get to the bottom of & then get rid of their symptoms.
I had a prolapsed disc C5-C6, which gave me alot of neck pain- especially with my head tilted forwards- cycling was the worst position for me & I had to give it up eventually. Push ups hurt it too much as well though! I was given simple exercises to do from a physiotherapist, which helped lots- I think because of the pain, all the muscles in my neck & shoulder area were getting tense & it became a vicious circle- maybe this is partly why you’ve noticed a swollen muscle? But then the pain from ES can do the same…
It’s a good idea to get the injection done with an experienced doctor & then you can take it from there.

my ENT carefully read the MRI result and told me there is no perfectly aligned cervical spine. Always, after some investigations, something will be found because no one is perfect . He think that the findings on the MRI does not explain the pains I accuse.
I do not even know what to believe. There are some head positions that stop the pain and there are even moments when I do not have any pain , especially in the morning when I wake up everything is fine.
If those infiltrations do not solve the symptoms, i do not know where to go…

The chronic tonsilitis I had and the hidden stone in the tonsillar crypt can produce the pain I accuse and the lymphadenopathy.
But it has been more than a month since tonsil surgery and 4 month since the stone came out, and the symptoms have not improved and the lymph nodes have remained as swollen.
How long does it take to heal after chronic tonsillitis ? Do you think I should wait anymore?

It takes a couple of months to heal from both that type of surgery & the ES surgery.

It sounds to me like your tonsils were only part of the problem. If you are willing to have a CT scan without contrast that would be the definitive test for Eagle Syndrome. MRI scans are for soft tissue injury. Since ES deals w/ calcification of ligaments & elongation (extra calcification) of the styloid processes, these would not show up on an MRI. Your symptoms definitely sound like those associated w/ ES but without the proper scans to prove this, there is no way to diagnose it.

Your pain seems bad enough that it would be worthwhile getting a CT scan (which is just a fancy x-ray) to see if you have calcified stylohyoid ligaments &/or elongated styloid processes. Having this information will be helpful for you in taking the next step toward healing.

Yes
But i have another symptoms that is concerning me .
I have verry tight muscles on the neck on the right side.
Hard SCM muscle , it’s like a rock and the insertion in the mastoid is hard like a bone .trapezus muscle is hard and splenius capitis inferior and superior i feel them like a bone.
Is thight muscles a symptom of Eagle Syndrome |?

It’s not necessarily a symptom of ES as such that I know of (it’s never mentioned in any research papers, I don’t think), but a consequence of ES, being in pain & having inflammation from the ES presumably makes people tense & then the muscles get tight? That’s my theory anyway, from personal experience! Have you tried physiotherapy at all? I was given some simple neck exercises to do & that really helped.

I completely agree w/ Jules. The irritation that an elongated styloid or calcified s-h ligament can cause internally could absolutely result in tension in neck & shoulder muscles. That’s one way our bodies react to pain. Muscle tension is a protective reaction.
The 11th cranial nerve - the accessory nerve - affects neck & shoulder function. Since the cranial nerves run in the area where the styloids live, they can get irritated by elongated styloids or calcified ligaments. Shoulder & neck pain are common ES symptoms.

Thank you very much for the promptness of answering my questions.
I do everything I can to figure out what is wrong with me, but in the same time i dont want to affect other aspects of my health.
I do not know why I feel better in the first part of the day. Also, when lying in bed with my head on pillow i feel better !?
Yesterday I tried to ride my motorcycle and I had some awful muscle aches in my throat, shoulder, neck, right arm and cervical spine muscles.
My face on the right side, parotid gland, cheek and right ear hurt verry bad because of wearing motorcycle helmet.
After two hours of riding, I had to return home and lay in bed.
I am healthy but i feel sick all the time becouse even i feel no pain , my body feels there is something wrong.
Do you think this could be related to Eagle?

This will make you smile a little :slight_smile:
We are presenting a rare case of a 45-year-old man who accidentally fractured his own styloid process and got relieved of stylalgia. According to our research, this is probably the first case in the world.