Hello, I am a 28 year old professional singer and music teacher. I started experiencing throat discomfort 6 months ago...it seemed to have started with feeling sick and run down...that cleared but this burning sensation in my throat, tongue swelling and neck and chest tightness (the muscles) all remain. The pain is on the right side of my throat, most of the time I wake up in the morning with no burning and then the pain will start when I start talking. I have been to several doctors... ENT specialists shrug their shoulders and say its probably GERD but they only see a slight swelling of the top of my tongue... I have had no success with PPIs nor any success so far with an extremely strict diet of veggies, fruit and chicken and fish. I stay away from acidic and spicey foods, so all very bland. I sleep with my head raised at night and wait 3-4 hours before I lay down. I eat small meals frequently throughout the day and try to take it easy and never bend over or lay down while working out. I am confused because if this is LPR or GERD wouldn't the burning be on more then just the right side of my throat? I also have inflammation in my nose near the back of my throat. I haven't lost my singing voice, my voice still sounds relatively healthy...no raspyness or loss of high range...it does tend to sound a tid bit thick and heavy though due to inflammation but only someone really aware would notice this.... i have lost about 2 whole steps off my low range though... and it is painful to try and reach the low notes i once used to hit, like the muscles are so tight and tender i just can't get down there. I wake up in the morning and stretch and hear cracking in my chest that has never happened before this... This is very hard because i do not see any patterns to the pain... I keep a food journal and there are no patterns to what i eat. its not like i eat something and then the burning comes so i have no idea.... i also never feel myself refluxing... the ENT said my vocal folds look fine, just slight swelling to the back of the tongue. But its not fine, I have had to change my whole life because of this and there is something defintely very wrong, I just feel like if its not LPR or GERD then what could it possibly be? I have been tested for everything you can think of... including thyroid problems, bacterial infection, i had them check into my stomach with a camera and they said it looked great. i had the test done to see if i reflux and i do , but its mild and she said she didn't see it go into my throat at all..... any insight would be appreciated.
I just turned 39, male, same exact issues. I'm a singer as well. I can't hit half of what I could hit just a few years ago though, so much different than you in that regard, which is scary. All your other symptoms and life changes, I've had. I have a very strict ONE INGREDIENT only diet... that is, if it doesn't have just one ingredient and isn't fresh, I don't eat it, that simple. Fish, Chicken, etc. Hasn't helped, a least not much if at all. On he outside I'm the vision of health, almost unfortunately, since doctors I think look at me, and think, "He's strong looking, muscular, in better 'shape' than I'm in around the same age, screw him, he's fine."... even though I'm not fine, at all. They seem to brush all this off and toss the, are you on any anti-anxiety meds by any chance 'diagnosis' of my physical problems. Great diagnosis doc. Well, yes, I am, but I have no anxiety because of the meds, and STILL have the physical manifestations. So... an abundance of tests done over the last few years, with no answers. Here's hoping for the best for you and I lizbills.