Hi All, I'm somewhat relieved to find this active thread as I've been exhausted in my search for answers as to why I am experiencing swallowing issues. In short, a few months ago, I noticed a pop/click/crunch (it varies) when swallowing. It can be heard and felt (by myself internally and externally through the skin), occurring in the area of my hyoid/thyrohyoid membrane/thyroid cartilage. It isn't painful, but it's jarring and alarming. I need to constantly reposition my neck to relieve it. This symptom came on rather suddenly, but I can't point to a specific action or event that directly caused it. It has increased in frequency and occurs on and off throughout the day. I'd say that literally half of my swallowing triggers this symptom in a given day.

I first saw an ENT who told me that it was probably just some ossification due to aging (I'm a 41 year old man, non smoker). He ordered an ultrasound and nothing was discovered. I tried to ignore it but couldn't, so more recently, I saw another ENT. He originally thought it could be my Hyoid hitting my cervical vertebrae. However, after ordering a CT scan, it was clear that wasn't the case. What was discovered were two things: I have early ossification of my thyrohyoid membrane and my thyroid cartilage area is out of alignment, curving to the right by a few millimeters. The ENT was perplexed and wondered if the misalignment was the cause of my positioning during the CT scan. However, both my mandible and spine seem to be centered. He thinks my symptoms may be caused by the ossification and/or the misalignment. He was also perplexed because he only sees something like this in patients who have suffered trauma to the neck. I have not had that, maybe except sleeping in a horrible position from time to time. He also though it may be from an older injury I could have suffered, even as a child. But, it's unclear to me why this symptom would now appear. The ENT told me to take an anti-inflammatory for a month and to give him a call to reassess. He also said he may eventually send me to see another specialist or therapist specializing in swallowing. I feel a bit hopeless at this point as I've seen two ENTs and had a CT Scan, ultrasound and I've been scoped in the office. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm also attaching the CT scan, which shows the misalignment.