Hello,
As many here, I have been struggling… found this forum through many hours of research and coming across Eagle syndrome. Looking for feedback, insights and your help please. Anything that you may have regarding what’s going on with me would be much appreciated.
At the end of January 2025 I experienced a sharp pain in the middle of throat on left side of Adams apple area. Didn’t think much of it at the time but felt off enough to be a little concerned. About mid December I started riding a spin bike and watching TV while riding. The TV position is on the top of the wall so I would have to tilt head up/back. The pain happened at the time I was on the bike in this position or moving in this position (I may have jerked it back cant remember). I was also doing some yoga at this time and some of the routines had neck rolls and neck stretches but very clearly remember the sharp pain on the bike.
My posture is not good from years of not sitting correctly behind the computer. I have tight traps with muscle knots for years. Neck cracks on left side frequently. Turning head either direction feel dizzy/faint and causes pain. I was down a significant amount of weight at the time this started and feel as though my shoulders dropped since I was smaller now. My wife and I even joked around at the time that my neck looked longer. Started sleeping semi upright mid April.
I’ve been trying to keep a lot of notes/history on the symptoms. I added a constants and sometimes that should cover everything. Doctors and imaging are below the symptoms log as well as the 3d images of the CT scan.
Symptoms Log - mostly outlined the worst on the day/time frame - constants are something stuck in throat feeling, base of neck tightness/strangling (extends up the sides), taking a deep breath throat feels tight/closing, jaw pain, submandibular area, under jaw hinge on neck (both sides but right is worse/more pronounced), tongue feels too big for mouth (back of tongue/throat), hurts/hard to swallow but during eating not as noticeable, hurts to talk most days (pain ranges), waking in the night with palpitations almost every night, bending over makes head pressure, symptoms get worse as the day goes on usually, on bad days have fatigue and have to lay down or rest head to give neck a rest - feel like I have to open my jaw move it to the right and it cracks on left side - warm days I have less pain and symptoms - having more trouble remembering things, fatigue, moving head to left or bending over face feels hot/left ear hot burning, indigestion/burping frequently
sometimes - cannot eat because of the swallowing (make smoothies), feels like cant breath, throat closing up - Lower jaw bone pain numbness tingling from back to chin - Sore throat like fire somedays - Hoarseness somedays - ear pain comes and goes on both sides (burning or stabbing) - fluid from ears, fullness in ears, feeling like I have to “pop” them - Sharp stabbing pains in neck - aching in neck, middle and base by collar bones like tendons - Lot of pain in throat under jaw submandibular - Crampy feeling under tongue and jaw - Dizziness - lightheadedness - blurry vision - nausea - Headaches/migraines and head pressure - left eye seems more blurry and sometimes cant focus-- Extreme fatigue
01/28 - 01/31 - sharp pain in the middle of throat on left side of Adams apple area
02/01 - 02/11 - slight pain in left sub-mandibular gland area. It quickly turned extremely painful felt like it was both sides. The pain calmed down some and then I had lower left mandible facial pain that radiated to the chin
02/12- 02/25 - same pains plus sides of neck very sore like sick with tonsillitis as a kid, hoarseness
02/27-03/12 - very bad time, pain under jaw throat neck, felt like throat closing up, almost to ER, hoarseness, very tired, couldn’t sleep, very emotional. Had a painful lump deep in neck on left side under jaw hinge area, ear fullness and fluid.
03/12 -03/20 - pain continues, intense neck, throat, jaw pain
03/20 - 03/26 - same pains, neck, jaw, ear, hoarseness. Extreme sore throat, exhausted.
3/27 - 04/04 sore throat, heart burn, indigestion, bad neck pain in front, sore in back
4/05 - 04/10 - heartburn and stomach pains, pains in neck under jaw left and right, throat sore but not as bad as week before, dry cough, jaw pain, hurts moving jaw, consistent ear pain, feels like fluid coming out of ears, difficultly swallowing but feels like marginally better or getting used to it now. Have to take frequent breaks more now to rest head by either laying down or sitting resting head back.
04/11 - same pains, most pain right jaw and ear, under ear
04/12 - now middle back really sore and painful
04/13 - bad neck pain under jaw, throat, base of neck, ear pain, slept terrible, felt very cold in morning didn’t feel warm until late afternoon, headache, light hurts, sensitive to sound, feel spaced out, short of breath spell, very tired, high resting heart rate for some time
04/14 - Ear pain, jaw, tingling in jaw and face
04/15 - Dizziness, headache, neck, ear, swallowing diff. pronounced, base of neck, spaced out feeling, cant think straight, hurts to talk, back of neck hurting more.
04/16 - pain in ears, under jaw, base of neck, back of neck
04/17 - right ear pain, under jaw, throat sore, right side of neck, spaced out feeling,
very tired after going to garden center.5 drive there 1.5 walking standing, .5 hour drive home. Had to lay down and fell asleep for about an hour.
04/18-04/19 - Right jaw, right side of neck, right shoulder, back of neck right side, right temple, right eye, right cheek, base of neck left side
04/20 - left shoulder, left chest, left ear, swallowing difficulty pronounced
04/21 - Right jaw, right side of neck, right shoulder, back of neck right side, right temple, right eye, right cheek, base of neck left side, left jaw, left side of neck, sharp pain by submandibular left, headache, sinus pain, face pain
04/22 - same as 21st
04/23 - Left side, hurts to talk, swallowing feels forced
04/24 - Right trap, right side of neck in back, left trap, throat right side, right ear with fluid, right side of throat hurts when swallowing (lymph node?), under ear jaw hinge, right side of tongue feels oddly numb, under jaw left submandibular, left jaw
04/25 - 04/26 - sore neck but pain not bad, swallowing feels a bit easier
04/27 - submandibular pain, all of neck sore feeling, jaw soreness
04/28 - 04/29 - sides of neck bad, jaw, bad mood in morning afternoon, base of neck, left side worse, chest pecs to shoulder knots hurt, stiffness and tight on right side, right trap
04/30 - same as 29th had PT appt, exhaustion in afternoon/evening
05/01 - rough sleep woke up sore all over in neck, usually neck is feeling good in morning, all around feeling a bit better, feel like I’m able to move my neck easier and with less pain, jaw is sore dull pain, sinus headache?,
05/02 - woke up in pain, left side middle of neck, throat, swallowing, hurts to talk, chest knot left side, left jaw, pressed on pain on left side almost passed out, feel pulsating pain left side, irritable and in bad mood afternoon, had head tilted back installing outdoor lights, anxiety, depressed, pain in band behind ear that goes over jaw, left eye pain
05/03 - throat tightness, difficulty talking, swallowing, submandibular pain tightness, 6pm after eating lots of pain, jaw, left neck soreness, headache, left eye, left temple, dizziness, left ear pain, sharp pain left middle throat
05/04 - sore throat, hurts to talk, hurts to swallow, left side of neck mainly,
05/05 - sharp pain middle of throat left side where it all began, forced difficult swallowing, hurts to talk, fullness in throat, felt like something shifted near Adams apple when drinking (have had this happen before in the past weeks, it is an odd sensation), right side of neck pain and tightness middle of neck, went for 45 min walk, about 30 min in felt hard to breath base of neck
05/06 -05/13 - right and left side of neck pains, right under jaw right side, hurts to talk, swallowing, submandibular pain soreness, feels like being strangled
05/17 - 05/20 right side under ear, submandibular area, hurts to talk. Feels like being strangled
05/21 - oddly neck pain eased some, pain on right side under ear/jaw (lymph node?), right ear pain, like middle ear
05/22 - Throat, swallowing, base of neck, after PT left side middle of neck pain lump
05/23 - Right neck middle pain, right middle ear pain, hurts to talk in throat, right side, bad anxiety, sharp pains in lower jaw
05/24 - Sharp pains, submandibular, jaw, headache, swallowing, throat, head pressure
05/25 - Headache, left side of neck pain, forehead above eye tender, left side of jaw, left side of throat, left side of tongue, left shoulder and trap, left chest, left base of neck, dizzy, brain foggy, talking hurts throat, bad anxiety, feels like difficulty breathing, back of neck left side, stomach pain, nausea, back of head right side, heart pain 7pm after gardening bending over for a while also felt very warm and flushed, pressure headache at night after shower, heart palpitations
05/26 - Woke up with Right jaw, right back of neck, right base of skull, swallowing, zaps in scalp, lots of throat neck pain and submandibular pain after eating/chewing, talking painful, throat numb/dry feeling, anxiety, throat sore, stabbing pain in throat, bending over extreme head pressure, feel like going to pass out, headache, ear stabbing pain, palpitations
05/27 - Strangling feeling base of throat, hurts talking and throat closing up feeling, burning left ear pain after eating dried fruit, stabbing pains in middle of throat both sides
05/28 - 06/06 - in a better place I would say but taking Lyrica every night, muscle relaxers occasionally when pain is bad during day, clonzapam for anxiety and it also helps with pain, anxiety is very bad some days, always have feeling of something stuck in throat, back of tongue fullness/numbness, base of neck strangling feeling, pain right below collar bones on chest by shoulder (like muscle knots or band in chest), swallowing feels forced, ear pains, head pressure bending over, left side of jaw feels like I have to “crack” it and opening/shifting jaw to right it cracks, painful lump on right side under jaw hinge
So… doctor/imaging history
02/04 - Dentist - xray of lower left jaw back molars, - nothing on xray - gave antibiotic. I assumed it was my lower left back molar since at the end of 08/2024 I had a large filling placed in the tooth and almost had it removed
02/05 - PCP - CT scan order but insurance denied, ordered ultrasounds
02/11 - Endodontist - CBCT scan - lower left jaw back molars - nothing
02/18 - PCP - Ultrasounds - Thyroid/salivary glands/submental space/carotids - nothing unusual
02/26 - ENT #1 - said it was sialolithiasis, gave antibiotic
02/27 - PCP - I read about Rosuvastatin 10mg I started on 12/18/24 causing dry mouth, reduced saliva flow, neck pain, recommended stop taking to see if any improvement, nothing
03/12 - ENT #1, said cervical problem not a ENT problem, chart had imaging from 2014 where my neck was in bad shape. Requested a cervical MRI with contrast, insurance denied prior auth
03/21 - PCP - CT with contrast - FINDINGS The visualized orbits are unremarkable. The visualized brain parenchyma is grossly unremarkable. The paranasal sinuses are clear. The mastoid air cells are clear. The nasopharynx is unremarkable. The oropharynx is grossly unremarkable.
Evaluation of the oral cavity significantly limited by scatter artifact. The epiglottis is unremarkable. There is mild effacement of the left vallecula.
The vocal cords are symmetric. Thyroid gland is unremarkable for technique. The parotid glands are grossly unremarkable submandibular glands are symmetric in size and attenuation. There is no cervical lymphadenopathy by CT size criteria.
There is mild facet hypertrophy of the cervical spine.
There is intervertebral disc space narrowing, endplate osteophyte formation, and endplate degenerative changes at C4-C5, C5-6, and C6-7. There is straightening of the normal cervical lordosis. The vertebral body heights are maintained. There is vacuum disc phenomenon at C6-7. No acute cervical fracture is identified. At the level of C3-C4, there is mild left neural foraminal stenosis. At the level of C4-C5, there is a posterior disc osteophyte complex causing mild ventral effacement of the CSF space and moderate bilateral neural foraminal stenosis. At the level of C5-6, there is mild ventral effacement of the CSF space and moderate to severe bilateral neural foraminal stenosis. At the level of C6-7, there is mild ventral effacement of the CSF space, moderate right neural foraminal stenosis, and moderate to severe left neural foraminal stenosis.
There is calcified and noncalcified plaque seen within the left carotid bulb. No hemodynamically significant stenosis is identified within the common or extracranial internal carotid arteries. No focal consolidation is identified within the lung apices. There is no visualized mediastinal lymphadenopathy.
03/26 - ENT #2 - Laryngoscopy - generous lingual tonsils with fullness in the vallecula
03/27 - ENT #2 - Direct laryngoscopy biopsy, rigid esophagoscopy - only thing was - slight hypertrophy of his cricopharyngeus muscle or possible sparing of his vertebral body
04/18 - Physical medicine and rehab physician, ordered MRI and given muscle relaxers and gabapentin/lyrica, physical therapy order
04/28 - MRI - Multilevel cervical spondylosis. Disc osteophyte complexes at C4-5 and C6-7. No disc herniation, central canal stenosis, or significant cord impingement. -
C4-5: Disc osteophyte complex contacting the ventral margin the cord with mild central canal stenosis. Moderate to severe bilateral foraminal stenosis. C5-6: No disc herniation or central canal stenosis. Bilateral uncovertebral spurring. Severe right and moderate to severe left foraminal stenosis.
C6-7: Disc osteophyte complex. No central canal stenosis. Moderate to severe foraminal stenosis.
05/05 - Rheumatologist - titers ANA bloodwork was positive speckled, tested for all diseases under speckled and was all negative.
04/30 to current - Physical therapist - postural exercise, strain counterstrain, cervical decompression
I do not have a diagnosis of anything at this time. The feedback I have is both ENT’s I have seen and my physical medicine/rehab physician both state that the cervical issues I have can cause the symptoms I am experiencing. My PCP and physical therapist are stating that the cervical issues don’t usually cause the front of the neck issues I have and I should be experiencing other issues such as arm and hand problems.
My symptoms seem to line up with ES or hyoid bone syndrome but I know there is over lap of symptoms with other causes. I have had a Tonsillectomy when I was 11 or 12. All the symptoms seem to stem from after the sharp pain incident on the bike. I read that there have been some cases of ES after sudden neck movement or position (painting ceiling with head back). The waking up with different pains seems to line up as well. I stumbled upon ES when reading about hypertrophy of lingual tonsils of all things. It was mentioned on a reddit post.
Next steps - My PCP ordered a barium swallow test that is scheduled in a month and have an appointment with a Dr Covello in two weeks for a consultation.
Here are my 3d images I generated of the CT scan. My styloids look thick in comparison to some others I have seen here maybe? Also, looking at the hyoid bone, it looks tilted but so does my cervical spine?
Thank you
