Has anyone heard of a dislocated hyoid bone?????

[lulin4]

Please, please give me some direction to head in with this!!!  My 17 yr. old son complained of pain in his neck a couple of months after he flipped over a car.  he had knee injuries as well.  the orthopedic took an xray of his neck and said he was ok.
About 10 months later my son complained that while at his bus stop something popped in his throat and he couldn't breath for a minute and was forced to place pressure on it to pop it back in.  I found it very odd and kind of brushed it off and said you're ok now so.  Then a couple of months later it happened again.  His pediatrician sent us to an Endoconologist.  He had no answer and told us to see an ENT.  We saw the ENT, he stuck a scope up through his nose and down to the throat and said he saw nothing.  He sent him for a cat scan, which came back negative, so he brushed it off.  We went to another ENT who also saw nothing and brushed it off as well.  
This past week my son had his 3rd popping incident and this time the condition became cronic.  Every time he turns his head this thing pops in his throat and it is very painful and scarry.  I rushed him in to the 2nd ENT.  This time the Dr, witnessed the popping for himself.  He believes the hyoid bone is dislocating and rubbing into the cartilige of the thyroid.  
We are waiting on an auth. for an MRI.  THE PROBLEM IS AND QUESTION:

THE ENT SAID HE NEVER SAW THIS BEFORE AND SAID HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT????
IN THE MEANTIME HE INSTRUCTED MY SON TO WEAR A NECKBRACE TO STOP HIM FROM TURNING HIS NECK!!!  
DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA???

[hyoidnottonsil]

For 30 years I thought I was swallowing my tonsil! Today I thought to ask my dentist and he called out the hyoid bone right away. Now I'm not alone!

For me it only happens when I'm laying my side. I can pop it back in with my fingers by pressing on my neck or I can swallow which is really hard and painful. When I was it kid it didn't happen very often and when it did it hurt a lot to swallow (was almost impossible to swallow actually, but no problem breathing) and it was easier to pop back. Now it is harder to pop back but less painful and happens about 3 times a week.

[Springnoel]

Wow, I am so glad I came across this thread. I am a 31 year old who's been going through this same thing for years. I have noticed it's been getting worse lately. Mine also pops when drinking from a straw or just turning my head a certain way. It's definitely an uncomfortable feeling but I can normally pop it right back by turning my head and moving my jaw some. I went to a chiropractor and they took x-rays but didn't even mention the hyoid bone..just that he had no idea, I had neck adjustments done but never helped. I'm so glad to have some answers today.

[Cherry3_3]

I have lived with this for quite a number of years now, it started in my early teens. I am hypermobile so my best guess is that the ligaments that hold my Hyoid bone in place are weaker than they should be, however, I have no other problems being hypermobile. But everyone is different.
I understand how scary it is when it dislodges and you can't breath! I usually just tilt my head up slightly and with 3 fingers flat against where my neck and my jaw meet, I gently push until it pops back in. It still hurst afterwards though.
So little is known about the Hyoid bone dislodging, I feel some research should be done as this is causing pain, choking and general discomft for the people that experiance this. People sometimes don't believe when I tell them about it. But unfortunately for now we will just have to live with it.
Good luck to you all and I finally feel like I'm not alone/ going crazy!

[Shalandir]

Is there an exercise, massage, or anything to strengthen the muscles/ligaments around the hyoid to prevent the popping?  

[Lillyisamess]

Hi! Dude, I thought I was crazy until I found this thread!!! This SAME THING has happened to me about four or five times in my lifetime. I'm 19, female. When it happens there's a pop and a grinding sound and then I can't breathe or swallow, and THE PAIN! It's so weird and scary. I popped it back into place on instinct. Just a hard push in the opposite direction puts it into place again. The thing that's worrying me, is that I'm getting A LOT of symptoms of hyperthyroidism (it's also in my family) but was just tested and it came up negative. Is it possible that because my hyoid bone has been pushed out of place multiple times, that it could of injured my thyroid gland? I mean, I guess it's possible... I haven't mentioned it to my doctor before because I felt kinda crazy saying something. I wouldn't be surprised if he's never heard of a hyoid dislocating so I don't wanna waste my breath.
A few years back I went to a chiropractor and he was alarmed by how tight my neck muscles are. I also have, what he thought are a lot of knots in my neck. They're very tender and painful at times. I've had them treated with massage therapy and electro stim. But, to no mercy, I still have many painful lumps in my neck and tight muscles. I have problems with my jaw and EXTREME chronic migraines since I was 6. If anyone knows if these things are related, if you know what I can do to help with all the pain I'm in, I'd be much appreciative. Lately, I've just been smoking a lot of weed and it helps my pain, but now I'm a ******* pothead and I am still in pain when I'm sober. Soooo anyway, I'm just happy I'm not the only one who has weird **** happening to their neck that literally no one has even ******* heard of. Good luck to all you out there that are suffering like me. Good ******* luck.

[aynieg]

Please research Ehlers Danlos Syndrome possibly the hypermobility type.    It causes jaw issues, dislocations of joints etc.  You may have issues with cervical instability which could be causing your neck issues.  My neck is the same way, tight, sore, knots pain.  Ehlers Danlos can cause the neck issues.  Another condition that is related is a Chiari 1 Malformation which can cause headaches and neurological problems.  Ehlers Danlos can cause issues all over your body anywhere there is collegen.  

[Ameliaan1]

Same problem here for 20+ years! It'll "pop" out of place every few years. Stress seems to tense the muscles and make it happen more often. Or turning/straining my next in bed.

I wanted to share what works for me to quickly pop it back into place... I look up and swallow. It hurts like hell! Equivalent to popping your shoulder or knee cap back into place.

Anyways THANK YOU ALL! Trying to describe this to doctors and people for years is sooo frustrating! Especially trying to describe how scary it is when it's happening!!!  

[Lekiboy]

My 12 yr old son just had his 2nd pop in 2 weeks. According to him, it was really painful and it was hard to breathe. He said it just goesback to its place when he tries to relax.

I hope we ca have a more comprehensive explanation fom the medical community.

Glad to have read all your posts but still curious on what happened with the original poster's son...