1. < Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)

What causes Clicking or Popping in Throat when Swallowing?

Posted by mushroom @mushroom, Oct 2, 2020

I was doing some neck massages a few days ago and then afterwards whenever I swallow, I feel a clicking/popping sensation and sound when my larynx moves up upon swallow. There is no pain at the moment but the popping sensation in my throat gives me anxiety whenever I swallow. Is this the result of the cartilage rubbing on each other? Is it from the hyoid bone rubbing the thyroid cartilage? Are there exercises that can fix this?

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 6, 2021
In reply to @mmedos "I have had the clicking going on now since March. Before it all started I had..." + (show)
@mmedos

I have had the clicking going on now since March. Before it all started I had issues swallowing so a Gastroenterologist did a scope and stretched my esophagus three times in a six month span. Shortly after the last one in March I have had the clicking when i swallow. It is driving me crazy. The ENT did a barium swallow and which showed nothing. My Insurance denied me having a CT scan. Now I am working with a speech path and having no luck. Have you found out what is causing your troubles?

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Hello @mmedos, Welcome to Connect. @highpsi8 may not have seen your reply to their post. Hopefully they will return and share an update. I'm sorry to hear your insurance company denied you having a CT scan and that you are not having much luck with a speech pathologist. Your doctor may be able to help you get authorization from your health insurance company for the CT scan.

Tips to Get a Health Insurance Prior Authorization Request Approved: https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-get-a-prior-authorization-request-approved-1739073

Did your insurance or doctor tell you why the CT scan was denied?

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 6, 2021
In reply to @jdrochester "I am glad I found this thread. This all sounds very similar to the symptoms that..." + (show)
@jdrochester

I am glad I found this thread. This all sounds very similar to the symptoms that I am having, along with a couple more.

1. The actual throat clicking, sounds as described by many in this thread. The clicking is never painful, it is on the left side, it comes and goes, and is just mostly rather annoying and is anxiety inducing. It mostly happens for me if I am looking straight on and swallow saliva. If i tuck my chin or look either way or back it doesnt happen most of the time.
2. My left ear has been gurgling some with swallowing or burping. On that, the doctor saw some earwax impaction, cleared that, and saw some infection. Treating me with antibiotics for that.
3. Seasonal allergies on top of all of this doesnt help either. I normally get fall allergies pretty good and have been fighting that with a postnasal drip the last few weeks.
4. I also get a weird metallic taste in my mouth from time to time. This could be part of the allergies and postnasal drip, could be GERD, it could also be COVID related. I was vaccinated for COVID in the spring, but not discounting that I could have gotten a very mild case of it and just had lingering effect. This symptom does seem to be getting less pronounced.

As for the cause of the clicking for me, there may be a very real cause of it that is on me but still need to see. I do participate in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and given that one of our literal goals is to choke each other...I may have taken a bad choke to cause this particular issue. We shall see.

I have a followup with my doctor tomorrow who had already said she would refer me to an ENT if the current course of treatment didn't resolve the issue. I will definitely let you all know what I find out!

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Hello @jdrochester, Welcome to Connect. Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear you have a follow up with your doctor soon and will be able to let us know of your progress with finding the causing of the clicking. Since you mentioned it may have been due to trauma (?) from your Jiu-Jitsu participation I thought you may find the following article interesting in that it mentions the possible cause of trauma in this rare case.

Clicking hyoid: A rare case report and review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4922244/

REPLY
ipodclassic | @ipodclassic | Oct 24, 2021

After many months of suffering, I was getting a massage from my gf, I pulled my head backwards, swallowed, heard a loud click and rubbing noise, and all of a sudden the clicking and trouble swallowing is gone.

If anyone wants to connect, send me a PM, we can exchange emails and give support to each other!

REPLY
3 replies
luvall | @luvall | Oct 26, 2021
In reply to @jdrochester "I am glad I found this thread. This all sounds very similar to the symptoms that..." + (show)
@jdrochester

I am glad I found this thread. This all sounds very similar to the symptoms that I am having, along with a couple more.

1. The actual throat clicking, sounds as described by many in this thread. The clicking is never painful, it is on the left side, it comes and goes, and is just mostly rather annoying and is anxiety inducing. It mostly happens for me if I am looking straight on and swallow saliva. If i tuck my chin or look either way or back it doesnt happen most of the time.
2. My left ear has been gurgling some with swallowing or burping. On that, the doctor saw some earwax impaction, cleared that, and saw some infection. Treating me with antibiotics for that.
3. Seasonal allergies on top of all of this doesnt help either. I normally get fall allergies pretty good and have been fighting that with a postnasal drip the last few weeks.
4. I also get a weird metallic taste in my mouth from time to time. This could be part of the allergies and postnasal drip, could be GERD, it could also be COVID related. I was vaccinated for COVID in the spring, but not discounting that I could have gotten a very mild case of it and just had lingering effect. This symptom does seem to be getting less pronounced.

As for the cause of the clicking for me, there may be a very real cause of it that is on me but still need to see. I do participate in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and given that one of our literal goals is to choke each other...I may have taken a bad choke to cause this particular issue. We shall see.

I have a followup with my doctor tomorrow who had already said she would refer me to an ENT if the current course of treatment didn't resolve the issue. I will definitely let you all know what I find out!

Jump to this post

I have some of the same issues. Got a few XRays and the only thing they found was a abscess under my left wisdom tooth. I have to go to an oral surgery but until then when I swallow the clicking is still happening. My left ear feels stuffed, I have post nasal drip and I also have GERD!

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2 replies
emalloy | @emalloy | Dec 22, 2021
In reply to @ipodclassic "After many months of suffering, I was getting a massage from my gf, I pulled my..." + (show)
@ipodclassic

After many months of suffering, I was getting a massage from my gf, I pulled my head backwards, swallowed, heard a loud click and rubbing noise, and all of a sudden the clicking and trouble swallowing is gone.

If anyone wants to connect, send me a PM, we can exchange emails and give support to each other!

Jump to this post

I pray I’m this lucky. This popping started for me about 2 weeks ago and is giving me crazy anxiety. We had a phlegmy cold go through our house and for whatever reason I noticed I have a pop. It’s at the top of my swallow and can feel it just left of my Adam’s apple.

I went to the doctor yesterday and he said he doesn’t think it’s anything to get worried over but set me up with an ENT. I can’t get the anxiety out of my head I have cancer. It sucks.

My case is just like everyone else only does it on a dry swallow looking straight ahead or to the right. Looking up down or to the left I don’t feel a thing.

Plus I keep having the urge to swallow and my muscles in my neck are starting to be sore.

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2 replies
emalloy | @emalloy | Dec 22, 2021

There are a lot of posts on this thread. Does anyone have any true resolve? I’m using this thread to help curb my anxiety.

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 22, 2021
In reply to @emalloy "There are a lot of posts on this thread. Does anyone have any true resolve? I’m..." + (show)
@emalloy

There are a lot of posts on this thread. Does anyone have any true resolve? I’m using this thread to help curb my anxiety.

Jump to this post

Hi @emalloy, so far a definitive solution to clicking or popping hasn’t been discovered. However, most have discovered that the issue doesn’t point to a serious underlying medical condition.

I’m glad your doctor is investigating further and referring you to an ENT specialist. I know this can be scary and one tends to leap to the worse case scenario. But I wouldn’t leap to cancer. More analysis and investigation is necessary.

Is this a new issue for you since the recent cold you had in your family? What causes you to have the urge to swallow? Do you find that the urge diminishes when you’re concentrating on something that require focused attention or you’re distracted by doing something you enjoy?

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1 reply
emalloy | @emalloy | Dec 22, 2021
In reply to @colleenyoung "Hi @emalloy, so far a definitive solution to clicking or popping hasn’t been discovered. However, most..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Hi @emalloy, so far a definitive solution to clicking or popping hasn’t been discovered. However, most have discovered that the issue doesn’t point to a serious underlying medical condition.

I’m glad your doctor is investigating further and referring you to an ENT specialist. I know this can be scary and one tends to leap to the worse case scenario. But I wouldn’t leap to cancer. More analysis and investigation is necessary.

Is this a new issue for you since the recent cold you had in your family? What causes you to have the urge to swallow? Do you find that the urge diminishes when you’re concentrating on something that require focused attention or you’re distracted by doing something you enjoy?

Jump to this post

Yeah I have never had this issue before. Definitely started around the time of everyone ha being cold and congestion. I think my urge to swallow started with my throat being very dry and contested and now I continue to swallow to see if my pop goes away. If my mind is focused on something other than this issue I don’t feel the urge to swallow frequently. I think a lot of it is anxiety.

REPLY
1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 22, 2021
In reply to @emalloy "Yeah I have never had this issue before. Definitely started around the time of everyone ha..." + (show)
@emalloy

Yeah I have never had this issue before. Definitely started around the time of everyone ha being cold and congestion. I think my urge to swallow started with my throat being very dry and contested and now I continue to swallow to see if my pop goes away. If my mind is focused on something other than this issue I don’t feel the urge to swallow frequently. I think a lot of it is anxiety.

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Malloy, anxiety is definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind when looking for answers. It may be the root cause or simply a contributing factor. It’s good that you are addressing both your physical and mental health.

Is anxiety new for you? What helps you to decrease your anxiety?

REPLY
1 reply
emalloy | @emalloy | Dec 24, 2021
In reply to @colleenyoung "Malloy, anxiety is definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind when looking for answers. It..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Malloy, anxiety is definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind when looking for answers. It may be the root cause or simply a contributing factor. It’s good that you are addressing both your physical and mental health.

Is anxiety new for you? What helps you to decrease your anxiety?

Jump to this post

I don’t have general anxiety. But when I have an “issue” with my body I don’t stop thinking about it and read all over the internet. I make myself more and more worried about what it could be when I don’t have an answer. I was the athletic guy that played college baseball, and when body issue last longer now and don’t fix themselves, I get more and more worried. I guess that comes with age but I’m only 32 ha ha.

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