A patient recently told me they’ve been having some problems swallowing lately. What can cause this? Swallowing is a pretty complex body function. It starts in the oral phase, when food is moistened ...

An older adult’s swallowing function is associated with lower social interaction levels, a new study finds. People with swallowing problems who lived at home laughed less than those without swallowing ...

The 4 stages of dysphagia range from mild to severe, but no single, universally accepted scale exists. Dysphagia refers to difficulty swallowing. It occurs when there is a disruption in one or more ...

My stepmother, Sophie Brody, thought she had a tumor. Whenever she ate solid food, it seemed to stick in her chest and not go down. The symptom is called dysphagia, difficulty swallowing, and it is a ...

Dear Dr. Gott: Here's one that has stumped a GI specialist and an ENT doctor. What do you think? Sometimes, I have a problem swallowing. The food seems to make it about halfway down my esophagus and ...

Eosinophilic esophagitis involves swelling of the esophagus. This inflammation may cause difficulty swallowing, stunted growth in children, and abdominal pain. Eosinophilic esophagitis is an allergic ...

Heartburn, accompanied by a burning sensation in the chest or throat when swallowing, may be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic condition in which stomach acid frequently ...

Medically reviewed by Mary Josephine Hessert, DO Ear infections, TMJ disorders, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia can all trigger different kinds of ear pain when swallowing.Ear pain when you swallow may ...

A patient works on tongue exercises at the UC College of Medicine’s Dysphagia Rehabilitation Laboratory. The majority of stroke survivors — up to three-quarters, according to some studies — experience ...