What causes Clicking or Popping in Throat when Swallowing?

Hello guys,

Thankful that I discovered this forum, as I have been dealing with this issue for a while now. I do have TMJD and neck issues. It has been confirmed that my TMJD is causing my ETD as well. In such a case, I pretty much have all the mentioned symptoms: crunch/grinding in throat when swallowing saliva trickling down most prominently on the left side, shortness of breath, and being able to offset the problem by lowering my neck to my chest. While I do believe my jaw joint misalignment is the underlying cause of the issue, there are other factors that should be considered.

From what I have gathered, I believe that this is an issue with the neck that has possibly caused thyroid cartilage issues. It is important for all of us to take into account any past history of neck trauma or complications.
In this regard, has anyone gotten a neck MRI evaluated by a specialist?

I will soon get my neck MRI image evaluated by a specialist. If no luck there, I will go see an ENT and ask about my thyroid cartilage.

I would still like to get an mri or X-ray to see what has moved in my throat

i have seen everyone getting worried about this but, i've had this since i was very young all the way at about ten and i've been dealing with this for about 16 years now as i am 26 it's nothing to dangerous to my knowledge since i'm sure it would have caused issues sooner but the one fix i have found for this is drink something warm slowly and try your best not to become to anxious about it and when you are relaxed and not caring about it, you will find it goes away at least to the point it is not bothering you cause i have noticed that the more anxiety you have that causes your throat to tighten makes it worse along with acid reflux makes it really bothersome.

i do hope this helps calm some who are worried about this and please don't take everything i say as the true fix to this but this is what i have found that fixes mine when it shows up or becomes problematic for a few days

Went to ENT this morning. His conclusion without a doubt was my hyoid bone and adams appl/thyroid cartilage are rubbing. He did say it's not too uncommon and that he has performed a few surgeries a year fixing this problem for people. He would basically remove the center area of the hyoid to avoid the contact. He had the camera that goes up your nose to look down into the throat and told me we could do it but it's about 300 bucks and he knew he wouldn't find anything because he knew the issue. I told him i didn't care and to look anyways. After looking he said everything looked great and saw no issues. He pointed out, the reason it doesn't pop when head is turned or looking up or down is because that articulation separates the two. He told me to relax, its nothing to worry about and if it is bothering me enough, we can get the surgery and get it fixed.

I have experienced extreme health anxiety over various types of diseases (cancer, HIV) and of course just general health anxiety about anything in this body. I remember having the clicking noise back when I had been extremely worried about cancer, in addition to other various physical sensations that have manifested in all parts of my body. I was going to doctors, lung specialists, WEBmd, ALL OF IT.

I have grown tremendously since then, mentally, physically, emotionally and all the other allys. This clicking noise, however, started happening again a few weeks ago. I have been over-using marjuana and nicotine again, leading to more paranoia about health and heightened anxiety. I am 22. I am an extremely gifted and talented athlete, and I am blessed to have this body! Our minds trick us.

The clicking noise is as mentioned above, normal. Our human bodies are weird and magnificent. When we become "hyper focused", we get caught in reactionary loops, such as - swallow, feel/hear click, anxiety, more thoughts, swallow, repeat... - we then look things up, think the worst, and next thing we know we can't focus on ANYTHING else. Throughout our day our focus is always in some way giving attention to the thoughts/sensations, in this case, the feeling of a lump in the throat/cancer/omg whats going on. Faulty beliefs.

If you are feeling ill, certainly seek medical attention. If you feel okay other than this clicking/lump in your throat, I can assure you it is normal and it just an anxiety loop. Reading how so many people go through it is just a simple relief in and of itself. The solution is not overnight, but you will feel major relief rather quickly by following the guidelines below:

1) breathe. deep breathes. feel the relaxation in your body start to build up the more you take some deep breathes.
2) drink cold water, and as youre drinking it, feel the cold sensation in your throat and thank the water for nourishing this body.
3) take hot baths, and i love putting my throat under the warm water.
4) The body knows how to function/heal NATURALLY. There is nothing to fix, or change, or do. Trust and Love that body.
5) Search up health affirmations, light a candle, and immerse yourself in the vibration of love/healing.

Much love to all my fellow warriors!
,stay dusty
-A

Welcome @johnbrown, Thanks for sharing your experience and what has helped you.

Do you mind sharing what brought you to Connect?

I am so happy to have discovered this forum and have been following the posts for a few months now. I've read every post and wanted to share my story which is similar to many of yours, hoping to hear back from you with reassurance and any ideas of how to fix this clicking sound in my throat.

In June 2021 I had a sore throat on the back left side of my throat, it was odd and the first time I've ever experienced unilateral soreness, my submandibular lymph nodes were swollen for 2-3 days then they returned back to normal, most likely got hit with something viral. The sore throat went away after about a week and half. During that time I went to the ENT and they basically said I'm fine after scoping and checking me out. Over the next several months I had a discomfort on the left side of my neck near the cervical lymph node area when I swallowed so I ended up getting an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed everything was normal except for an 'elongated cervical lymph of 2.5 cm x 0.5 cm'. I followed up again 4 months later and the size had not changed significantly although they noted some calcification on my hyoid bone. The ENT believes that inflammation, along with GERD caused the hyoid to become misaligned. I haven't gotten a CT scan yet so I don't know if this is completely true.

Since August 2021, I noticed that when I swallowed saliva slowly, a sticking sensation was happening in the area where my throat was sore months prior. I then became hyper aware of this and was able to produce a clicking sound when I voluntarily swallowed. The sound is audible when I open my mouth and also palpable when fingers are placed near the hyoid bone. I feel a thud sound inside my head when this click happens. It kind of feels like a rubber band snapping in the back of my throat.

I went back to ENT and like many of you have said here, they said this is nothing to worry about and something I'd have to live with. They were not able to provide a diagnosis but just said it's a clicking hyoid/larynx. I also went to a speech pathologist who acknowledged the clicking and showed me laryngeal massages but these do not work.

Now after about 6 months I am doing my best to not think about it but the loop of anxiety is very real as this is a daily thought that comes multiple times a day. Sometimes the thought of cancer pops up. I don't want to get surgery but I am wondering what others have done to help with their mental health. I've turned this into OCD where I constantly am feeling my neck. I've done lots of research online but need to stop searching now and just accept that this is something I have to deal with.

Thank you all for reading my post and providing support. I'm glad to find this community to discuss this medical mystery. Would love to connect and provide whatever support I can as well!

I am so happy to have discovered this forum and have been following the posts for a few months now. I've read every post and wanted to share my story which is similar to many of yours, hoping to hear back from you with reassurance and any ideas of how to fix this clicking sound in my throat.

In June 2021 I had a sore throat on the back left side of my throat, it was odd and the first time I've ever experienced unilateral soreness, my submandibular lymph nodes were swollen for 2-3 days then they returned back to normal, most likely got hit with something viral. The sore throat went away after about a week and half. During that time I went to the ENT and they basically said I'm fine after scoping and checking me out. Over the next several months I had a discomfort on the left side of my neck near the cervical lymph node area when I swallowed so I ended up getting an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed everything was normal except for an 'elongated cervical lymph of 2.5 cm x 0.5 cm'. I followed up again 4 months later and the size had not changed significantly although they noted some calcification on my hyoid bone. The ENT believes that inflammation, along with GERD caused the hyoid to become misaligned. I haven't gotten a CT scan yet so I don't know if this is completely true.

Since August 2021, I noticed that when I swallowed saliva slowly, a sticking sensation was happening in the area where my throat was sore months prior. I then became hyper aware of this and was able to produce a clicking sound when I voluntarily swallowed. The sound is audible when I open my mouth and also palpable when fingers are placed near the hyoid bone. I feel a thud sound inside my head when this click happens. It kind of feels like a rubber band snapping in the back of my throat.

I went back to ENT and like many of you have said here, they said this is nothing to worry about and something I'd have to live with. They were not able to provide a diagnosis but just said it's a clicking hyoid/larynx. I also went to a speech pathologist who acknowledged the clicking and showed me laryngeal massages but these do not work.

Now after about 6 months I am doing my best to not think about it but the loop of anxiety is very real as this is a daily thought that comes multiple times a day. Sometimes the thought of cancer pops up. I don't want to get surgery but I am wondering what others have done to help with their mental health. I've turned this into OCD where I constantly am feeling my neck. I've done lots of research online but need to stop searching now and just accept that this is something I have to deal with.

Thank you all for reading my post and providing support. I'm glad to find this community to discuss this medical mystery. Would love to connect and provide whatever support I can as well!