What causes Clicking or Popping in Throat when Swallowing?

I have been with the same thing for 2 month, the click started one day at a dinner, on my sofa eating my legumes and vegetables, I am an athletic and healthy person, but this triggered a state of mental stress to the point of not wanting to eat so as not to feel the famous click . The first days my throat muscles hurt, I felt as if I had a tight shirt around my neck and also when I ate I felt something that was stuck there and would not go down. I didn't want to use google, because everything always points to cancer, which is very close to me and because my mother is suffering from this disease and precisely of the larynx. For a week I felt really depressed, my life had no meaning, I have a beautiful wife and an adorable 4 year old son, they are my life but all this got over me. A month later I went for help, the ENT doctor put a camera up to my vocal cords, he only found reflux. (I have dinner and go to sleep after 15 minutes) I've been taking medicines for 2 weeks and changing my diet, the medicine are protons that suppress excess gastric juices, but everything remains the same, luckily I don't feel the click every time I swallow, only when I have my jaw pointing down or when I eat something very dry. What I have found in common in several comments is: Anxiety, Reflux and there I read about a dental abscess, which I have. These days I am more relaxed and I have felt the click less, but unfortunately every time I swallow saliva I am very overconscious and it makes me sick. I hope we can all work it out.

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Hi @paoloremedy1982, Welcome to Connect. You mentioned you went to an ENT doctor and they put a camera up to your vocal chords and only found reflux. @hopeful33250 mentioned a swallowing study reference a Mayo Clinic page here - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372033

Have you had a swallowing study before to see if they can tell what the problem is?

Hello @paoloremedy1982

I would like to join, John, @johnbishop, in welcoming you to Mayo Connect! I'm sorry to hear about this problem you are having with noises when you swallow. It is easy to understand your concern given your mother's history of cancer of the larynx.

Your symptoms are interesting in that they occur with certain neck positions. I'm thinking, as John mentioned, that a swallowing study might be helpful to you. It can help to either put your mind at ease or point to another diagnosis that might be overlooked.

You say that you eat dinner and then go to bed 15 minutes later. Is that correct? I would highly recommend that you give yourself a longer period of time between your last meal of the day and bedtime. If you can't do that, then a very small meal before bedtime might help with reflux in general. Also, putting risers under the head of your bed is often helpful as well.

I recently had a swallowing study done at a university hospital near me. I then had a follow-up appointment with my laryngologist (an ENT doctor who specializes in vocal cords and swallowing problems). He recommended a product called Reflux Gourmet. It is only available on Amazon.com. It was developed by a team of laryngologists. It can really help with reflux-type symptoms.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful to you. Will you post again with any questions or concerns?

I've got the same issue. When swallowing solids, one tends to slightly tuck their chin, that's when it is the most intense for me. It also occurs when I have to swallow something that is difficult to swallow, especially a large mouth full of food that requires multiple swallows. My click is bilateral. It occurs on both sides, up to the point that my whole hyoid clicks out. Unfortunately I have been stigmatized by my patient file. I'm from the Netherlands and practitioners tend to keep a patient file. I've switched practioners because up till now they've all viewed my problem as "psychogenic" because of my patient file. No one takes me seriously. My life is in ruins.

A week ago I got a head cold and even today I ended up blowing a bunch of yellow snot out of my nose. thought I was getting better.
then I was eating dinner and I heard a crack or a pop or something Im not really sure. and ever since swallowing hurts
I dont feel any cracking or anything since Im just really confused to what happened and if this is anything I should be worried about

Hello @oley49 and welcome to Connect. I can understand your concern about this noise and discomfort when you swallow. I'm sure that this has caused stress when you eat.

Connect does have a discussion on this topic. Here is a link to the discussion, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/clickingpopping-throat-when-swallowing/. I would encourage you to read the posts and if you want to ask a question or comment just click on "Reply" under the post and you can connect with the member.

I would like to invite @alfredj and @paoloremedy1982 to join in this discussion as they have mentioned similar problems with noise when swallowing.

I see that this is a rather new problem for you. Have you contacted your doctor for an evaluation? Do you have an ENT doctor with whom you could consult?

Hello to everyone who is facing this very unsettling problem. I've been following this thread since the beginning of this year. And looking for treatment for that too since the beginning of this year. Since I found this forum, I saw that I was not alone and that not only motivated me to seek a solution to the problem, but also help others, like everyone here, to solve it as well. In a way, I decided to volunteer as a human laboratory, looking for treatments for this in order to bring him here. First I went to a doctor who asked for a nasofibrolaryngoscopy, so I did and she said that everything was fine and that the "click" could have muscle causes, I was prescribed a muscle relaxant which I took for a few days but didn't see any results. After a while I went to another doctor and clearly mentioned that I had a popping sound when I swallowed and turned my neck. She ordered another nasofibrolaryngoscopy and a CT scan. And so I did. In nasofibrolaryngoscopy, fortunately, nothing was detected. And so far I'm waiting to return with my doctor and see what she can identify in the CT scan. I, like everyone here, lived many moments of anxiety, crying, and suffering because of this; even more so because I am passionate about acting and communication and this has affected me directly. But seeing that there are other people with the same problem motivated me even more to seek a solution for it, you can be sure, that what I can do to bring a possible solution for myself and also for all of you here, I will do. I hope you are getting better from this problem and if not, stay optimistic, because there is definitely a solution! See you soon and be well!

Hello @letsolve and welcome to Connect. I appreciate you adding your story of this problem to our discussion. It sounds like you are actively advocating for yourself with your medical team. I really admire it when a person is proactive! We all need to do this, especially when we are faced with an elusive or hard-to-diagnose problem.

From your post, it sounds as if you are mainly working with ENT specialists. Is that the case? How long have you had this problem?

I am having a similar problem of my inner throat popping. It happens randomly when I turn my head, and it happens often.
It does not cause PAIN , but it causes discomfort.
I tried the video exercises- but they didn’t help.
My primary and ENT were not concerned. And did not find anything.
I feel I should have an X-RAY and an MRI to actually see what’s going on below the surface…

Hello @mimtim and welcome to Connect. I'm sorry to hear that you are also dealing with this uncomfortable problem. Some of the other members who have posted indicated they had a cold, cough, or massage previous to this popping or clicking sound. Did you notice this after any particular illness or accident? I'm also wondering if you have had any injuries to your neck, throat, etc.?

You mention that you don't have pain, but you do have discomfort. Could you describe this discomfort?

Please know that it is always your right to seek a second opinion if you don't feel that you are getting the diagnostic tests or answers that you need. Is there a large medical center nearby where you can seek a second opinion?