Understanding Glossopharyngeal neuralgia: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Glossopharyngeal neuralgia

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

General

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is a rare condition that can cause pain in the throat, the back of the tongue or the middle ear. The glossopharyngeal nerve is a cranial nerve that serves all the areas just mentioned. The pain is usually described as sharp, stabbing or shooting pain. The episodes typically are intermittent, from a few seconds to a few days. The pain can be triggered by cold liquids, chewing, swallowing, sneezing, coughing, clearing the throat or touching the gums. The cause for neuralgia is usually unknown but sometimes it may be caused by a trauma, surgical procedure, infections, multiple sclerosis, tumors, blood vessels near the brainstem or an elongated styloid process.

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Signs & symptoms

Symptoms of glossopharyngeal neuralgia include episodes of sharp, stabbing, pain in the throat, the back of the tongue or the middle ear. These episodes may be accompanied by fainting, slow heartbeat or arrhythmia.

Diagnosis

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is diagnosed by medical history and physical examination. Sometimes an imaging test may be done to determine whether there is something compressing the nerve.

Treatment

Treatment of glossopharyngeal neuralgia include anticonvulsant drugs, antidepressants and local anesthetics. If these don’t help, several surgical procedures may be done. These surgical procedures include microvascular decompression and gamma knife radiosurgery.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

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