What causes Clicking or Popping in Throat when Swallowing?

Hello I am too facing same problem I didn't had it earlier I don't get any pain too it's just clicking whenever I swallow, is there any remedy or medications that I can follow to get relief from this

Welcome @sabakhan, I posted a video earlier in the discussion on something you can try that might help. Here's the link - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/323788/.
I think you will get your best answer and probably ease your mind if you have it checked out by an ENT doctor.

How long has the clicking when swallowing been going on?

Hello everyone, I've been studying a lot of neck anatomy, including hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles, among others. I also spoke to some doctors about it, asked questions and cleared my doubts. And I came to a - Possible - conclusion. (I want to make it clear, that I did this research on my own, I talked to doctors also on my own, and I also did exams, so this is not a scientific article, at least for now, maybe I will go deeper as a researcher and take this to an even more professional side, anyway, I hope this can help you.) If you search for thyrohyoid membrane or thyrohyoid ligament, you will see that between the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage, there is a group of fibroelastic ligaments, these ligaments allow mobility of the larynx as a whole, and thus, aid in speech, swallowing, and breathing. Based on reports from people who suffer from it like me, I realized that most of us ventured into laryngeal massages or suffered some trauma in the region, such as: high pressure vomiting, blows or even falls. After having researched for months about all these things, using scientific articles as a basis, I went to ask doctors with many years of experience, one of them answered me something like this: People who do laryngeal/hyoid massages passively tend to experience symptoms like those (Clicking, popping). He didn't explain why, but I have a guess; As the connection between the hyoid bone and the larynx is made of fibroelastic ligaments, these ligaments are more fragile than muscles, and may tear or even break; depending on the intensity of the massage or trauma, it may have led to laxity or rupture of a part of these ligaments, more precisely on the lateral part near the greater cornu of the hyoid bone, and the superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage, giving rise to friction, causing the click, because technically the hyoid became more "loose" so to speak. As a solution, I didn't find anything specific and truly effective, I don't know if there is any surgery to repair or strengthen these ligaments, but maybe physiotherapy, in the medium term, can help or even solve this problem, if there is a minimally invasive procedure for this, such as an infiltration or even the surgery itself, would be a good possibility. I hope I helped, and I want to remind you again that this is not a scientific article, nor something scientifically proven, it's just a hypothesis of someone who suffers from it, did a lot of research on it, and questioned experienced doctors about the problem. Anyway, look for an experienced specialist and ask about it, you may find a specific solution for your case. Hugs and best wishes to all!

I had my thyroid removed years ago. I also have a very dry mouth due to medications. I have been wondering shy sometimes when I swallow, I can here a clunking sound in my throat. I can feel it as well. If I push the voicebox area from side to side, it will also clunk sometimes. Any ideas on this?

I developed this throat clicking/popping two days ago and it has been unrelenting since then. The popping is not particularly painful, but it feels uncomfortable and grosses me out, it is producing a lot of anxiety every time I need to swallow as I never know if it will surprise me with a pop. It feels like cartilage rubbing or getting caught on something, or like a lymph node or tumor rubbing against the structures of my throat. Like a lot of you here, I worry it could be cancer or something scary like that. The surrounding tissues have become sore and tender now. Mine does not click when I look straight ahead, instead it pops and clicks when I look down or to the left. Sometimes it pops without swallowing if I turn my head quickly or cough or when I pronounce certain words. This has happened to me before in the past and has always freaked me out, but it never lasted for more than a few hours to a day. I used to worry about thyroid cancer when it happened. It also feels like I have a lot of phlegm in my throat but I don't really seem to have it, its just the sensation of fullness. I also have a minty menthol feeling that rises up from the back of my throat, I've read this could be acid reflux/laryngopharyngeal reflux related. Apparently a lump in throat feeling is also related, but the popping feels more like it is something catching on something or something in my throat's anatomy is out of alignment. Perhaps in my case it is acid reflux and it is causing inflammation and swelling and that is when the cartilage or hyoid bone catches on something? And when my swelling is down, it stops doing it? I'm hoping this goes away soon and I am not stuck with this long-term. I see an ENT next week.

Did this ever improve for you? I’m going through the exact same thing right now.

Yes, it did! Turns out it was acid reflux, I had an endoscopy at my ENT appointment and this was the finding. It stopped after a couple of weeks and hasn’t happened since.

Hi! Yes it does sound similar, indeed. Was it confirmed that it was a viral infection? I understand you've had this for a long time from what I've read from you, and you haven't noticed any significant improvement or relief?

I've had similar symptoms, like pain or pressure on one side, leading up to this which is now constant more or less. But I don't know if I had an infection. Doctors saw nothing in my throat.

The clicking is so strange, it mostly comes when I tense my throat after swallowing. But sometimes when I swallow as well. It's like a pressure building up with each swallow. Globus sensation is pretty much constant.

I'm so tense, it's radiating all over my throat and chest - even affecting breathing lately, although it could be anxiety, the pressure seems to be related to a physical problem. Indeed, anxiety probably makes the muscles around the throat extremely tense, so I wonder if those rub or clench around these structures: hyoid, larynx or cervical spine(?).

Doctors have actually pointed out that a vertebra in my neck is slightly bulging. And I don't think it's unheard of that it can cause dysphagia. I could be totally misleading though. So whether that is related or not remains to be seen.

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!