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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rockysolomon995 | @rockysolomon995 | Apr 7, 2023

Hello I have recently posted on this page. So I have an answer as to why my throat clicks. I had an appointment with the professor of OTOLARYNGOLOGY at Stanford medical. He notice on my CT scan that one of the greater horns of the hyoid bone is a little elongated and rubbing against my vertebrae when I swallow. My click does not cause any pain whatsoever, and if I turn to one side and swallow there is no click. He did say it is a simple outpatient surgery, the procedure last less than an hour. Where they go in and trim down the greater horn of the hyoid bone that is longer than the other. He said recovery time is usually 1-2 days, he said you biggest symptom after surgery would be having a feeling of a sore throat. I asked him if the clicking would stop once those are trimmed he said it would stop immediately. So now I have an answer as to why this is happening and a cure for it. Hope you guys out there can find a good doctor who can find what is going on and take care of it. I will update once I have my surgery to fix it.

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alfredj | @alfredj | Apr 29, 2023

My ENT specialist wants to treat my clicking larynx issue with a superiorlaryngeal nerve block, but I am rather skeptical. Is anyone familiar with this medical procedure? I can’t find any information regarding it being used to treat a clicking larynx. To me it seems mere symptom control, as my ENT specialist doesn’t know what is causing it. I have had multiple CT-scans and the standard reply I get after the scans have been examined, is that the structural abormalities are within the range of normal variation. Should I ask my specialist to perform more tests so as to get to the bottom of what is causing my larynx to rub against my hyoid bone?

Any advice would be more than welcome. Thank you in advance.

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1 reply
ne2q | @ne2q | Apr 30, 2023
In reply to @alfredj "My ENT specialist wants to treat my clicking larynx issue with a superiorlaryngeal nerve block, but..." + (show)
@alfredj

My ENT specialist wants to treat my clicking larynx issue with a superiorlaryngeal nerve block, but I am rather skeptical. Is anyone familiar with this medical procedure? I can’t find any information regarding it being used to treat a clicking larynx. To me it seems mere symptom control, as my ENT specialist doesn’t know what is causing it. I have had multiple CT-scans and the standard reply I get after the scans have been examined, is that the structural abormalities are within the range of normal variation. Should I ask my specialist to perform more tests so as to get to the bottom of what is causing my larynx to rub against my hyoid bone?

Any advice would be more than welcome. Thank you in advance.

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I had a clicking when swallowing liquids if my head was facing slightly towards my left. No click if I faced forward when swallowing liquids. This lasted about 24 months when suddenly the problem just went away. It has not occurred for over 5 years now. Do you get this sensation when swallowing?

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1 reply
Jack | @captainj | May 1, 2023
In reply to @ne2q "I had a clicking when swallowing liquids if my head was facing slightly towards my left...." + (show)
@ne2q

I had a clicking when swallowing liquids if my head was facing slightly towards my left. No click if I faced forward when swallowing liquids. This lasted about 24 months when suddenly the problem just went away. It has not occurred for over 5 years now. Do you get this sensation when swallowing?

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Wow amazing i am having this clicking when swallowing anything including saliva for 7 months now ,
How did you end up in this chat topic?

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areviewer | @areviewer | May 2, 2023

I've had the clicking feeling that started after my new patient ENT appointment a few weeks ago. I went to the ENT & he did a scope that went from my nose to my throat (the whole appt just went very wrong & fast). I have no idea what the procedure was called that they did, b/c no one explained anything to me. I didn't have the feelings I'm having now before the appt. After the scope, it took 7 hours for the lidocaine they gave me to wear off & after that moment my throat felt strained.

When it wore off I developed a sore throat that lasted 14 hours. After that went away my throat started to feel like the camera was still in my throat or poking it (right under my larynx area).

I then started having the click feeling/sound when I swallow and my throat has felt uncomfortable. I don't have pain, it's just very bothersome. This has caused a lot of anxiety for me that the scope the doctor did caused damage to my throat (I feel a lot worse than before I saw the ENT). I literally had to start anxiety/depression meds, I started therapy and I have lost a lot of sleep (as it's now 1AM).

I am so scared and wish I never went to the ENT. I didn't even know they were going to do a scope or whatever it's called that they did. They didn't explain anything and the doctor never actually talked to me to get why I was there. His MA just said the doctor wants you to have medicine so he can look at your throat (but she never left the room to ask him this & he never came in to tell her or examine me to say this). I feel so stupid and mad at myself because I should have asked more questions.
After she put the meds in me (I saw it was lidocaine & Afrin- she never said what she was giving me), she left & a couple of mins later the doctor came in. He used the otoscope to look at my ears, nose, & mouth. Then he grabbed the camera & started going through my nose. I didn't know they were doing this & froze out of panic & anxiety.

I called the ENT after with the symptoms I developed after this scope & he denied the camera hit or bumped anything. He said I should try Nexium twice a day for a month or I can do more testing. I haven't tried it because I don't feel like I have acid reflux, and I'm scared now to trust him. But this click feel has been driving me crazy and I don't want to live with this forever. I am not trying to discourage or scare anyone from the ENT, I think I just went to a bad one and wish I never went.

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areviewer | @areviewer | May 2, 2023
In reply to @pinkrosebud "Yes, it did! Turns out it was acid reflux, I had an endoscopy at my ENT..." + (show)
@pinkrosebud

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.

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@pinkrosebud Did you take medicine for the acid reflux and did that make the clicking feel stop? Did he have you take Nexium or Prilosec? Did you have other symptoms besides the clicking feeling or was it just the click?

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myhyoidbone | @myhyoidbone | May 13, 2023
In reply to @dream108 "Thanks! I also agree with you. For folks following along on this thread, I went to..." + (show)
@dream108

Thanks! I also agree with you. For folks following along on this thread, I went to the ENT yesterday and he acknowledged the clicking sound. He confirmed it is hyoid bone that is rubbing on the thyroid cartilage. He did a nasal endoscopy and everything was clear, except for excess thick mucus. He wants to try steroids and muscle relaxer medication but I'm not so sure this will work so still thinking it over. I asked if I can get imaging done instead he said first try medication then imaging if it still persists in the next 4-6 weeks. For anyone who wants to connect on this feel free to send me a message and we can discuss ideas. Thanks!

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Hi I was wondering if you still were on here? I kinda have the same clicking sounds but this was my own fault of the cause

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1 reply
Jack | @captainj | May 18, 2023
In reply to @myhyoidbone "Hi I was wondering if you still were on here? I kinda have the same clicking..." + (show)
@myhyoidbone

Hi I was wondering if you still were on here? I kinda have the same clicking sounds but this was my own fault of the cause

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what did you do??

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Jack | @captainj | May 21, 2023
In reply to @steph9097 "I've been feeling cartilage in my throat clicking for 8 months. I'm living in China, and..." + (show)
@steph9097

I've been feeling cartilage in my throat clicking for 8 months.
I'm living in China, and 8 months I just had a baby. I stayed at the hospital, didnt take any medication, so was in so much pain I couldn't move. Well one day I wanted to get something I couldn't reach. So I stretched my arm and neck and I might've done that a little to hard, and then I heard a click in my throat. I thought I broke something in my throat I start touching it and it didnt hurt. Then I started swallowing and the clicking started. I told my husband what happened and he told a nurse. The nurse told me that it's nothing and it's normal to hear a little clicking in the throat sometimes. She said to not think about it. I'm a person with anxiety, of course I was going to think about it. The clicking didnt stop, I felt it everyday all the time, the only times it doesnt click is when I eat.
But 2 months after that nothing changed, my husband took me to see a doctor. The doctor told me to see an ENT. They did an endoscopy, put a small camera to check my throat. And found nothing. They just told me my throat looked a little swollen. So I went home, feeling alone like nobody would understand. I explained everything to my husband and he understood me, but all he can do is take me to see a doctor , and they cant find anything. So, 3month after that I felt the cartilage in my throat more uncomfortable, this time I felt like something was stuck, there was still clicking but I felt like maybe a cartilage is out of place because I felt something stuck. I went again to get a x-ray done, and they found nothing. The doctor actually told me that I have a perfect throat and everything is in place. He told me that I have acid reflux. Then he asks if I feel any burning sensation in my throat , I tell him that I dont feel anything like that. I feel like a cartilage is not right, the throat clicks when I swallow and then it feel like something is getting stuck. He told me not to worry that its acid reflux and gave me medicine to take for a week. After I finished the medicine nothing changed. One month ago I went to go see a different doctor, this time I knew I was wasting my time after he put a little mirror on the back of my throat and said that there is nothing there and that it's acid reflux from eating too much spicy food 😑😔 I just went home and gave up.
I felt like I just have to deal with this for the rest of my life.
But I started searching on the internet and found this thread and I am starting to feel hopeful.
I want to share my story to let other people that are experiencing the same thing and let know that they're not alone and I hope one day we all find the solution soon.

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how you doing now?

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