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What causes Clicking or Popping in Throat when Swallowing?
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (334)Comment receiving replies
Hey all, this thread has been a great help and to see others with this issue has been reassuring when I felt alone. I’ve had the ‘popping’ sensation for 6 months now, where when my head is in certain positions, i.e Facing down to the left, i get a jolt around the hyoid bone area, where the hyoid bone jolts to the right, almost like a muscle or ligament is catching. It can then either keep doing it every time i swallow saliva/food/drink, or not at all, it’s easy quite inconsistent. Doesnt hurt but definitely makes you wonder what’s going on when it jolts, almost like an elastic band being flicked in the throat. Ive seen 3 gp’s and all said nothing to worry about… non smoker/otherwise healthy etc but still feeling the ‘pop’ i was concerned something was more serious that was being ignored, i.e the big C word which drives my anxiety wild (perhaps part of the issue), which could be pushing everything out of place. With this in mind i pushed for a ENT appointment, which i got, and had to wait 4 months for!. Today i had the full appointment, with examination and endoscopy, which revealed no issues at all apart from small nasal polyps and postnasal mucus and dry throat, which could be causing the pop. I feel better that nothing sinister was seen, nor was any sign of reflux, even though i do get that. I still wish i knew what was causing the pop but after this appointment i do feel it’s a case of being hyper focused on the area making it 10x worse, which hopefully will fade over time. I also have an impacted wisdom tooth which I’ve seen mentioned in here, perhaps pushing something out of line! Right now though i feel at ease for the first time in 6m and not concentrating on every swallow!
Replies to "Hey all, this thread has been a great help and to see others with this issue..."
Hello, what you wrote makes a lot of sense, I remember that when the click started, almost a year ago, I worried much more than necessary, and it turned out that I also became hyperfocused in that region, which certainly made it a small problem , "big". After that time, I could mainly notice that the other side also clicks! something I hadn't noticed before because I focused too much on one side... So, as I said in the texts I wrote 3-4 months ago, the cracks (in their vast majority) are something normal, which invariably happen in the bone hyoid and thyroid cartilage, CAN SOMETIMES be indicative of a micro-trauma, - note I said "sometimes" hyoid/laryngeal trauma is relatively rare, even with such massages - as some people (such as singing professionals, actors and voice actors) do laryngeal movement exercises... it is a very delicate region, I would recommend not venturing into massage, speech therapists know how to do it correctly, so if anyone reading this text wants to venture into laryngeal massage to improve diction, or relax muscles to speak, lecture, sing or whatever, go to a speech therapist first, it's the best thing to do, believe. Some people may feel this click more, and others less, because as the hyoid bone is naturally almost touching the cervical spine, it is common for it to stick a little there... and as the size of the hyoid varies from person to person person, some may feel a more attenuated click, I suspect that much of this topic is male, so we tend to feel more discomfort in this region because it is more prominent.
(I don't know why, but after I posted this text I realized that it is repeated 3x. maybe it's a bug around here, but if not, ignore the repetition.)
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