Styloid process syndrome is also called styloid process overlong, EAGLE syndrome and styloid process neuralgia. Common in adults, unilateral onset is more common. Because the clinical manifestations of the syndrome are diverse and nonspecific, it is difficult to diagnose, and it is easy to be confused with diseases such as pharynx, inflammation, glossopharyngitis, glossopharyngeal neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia, and it is easy to be misdiagnosed and delayed in treatment.

The common clinical manifestations of styloid process syndrome are:

1. Pain in one side of the pharynx and the base of the tongue can radiate to the ear or neck, and sometimes it is aggravated when swallowing, talking, turning around or at night;

2. A feeling of foreign body or obstruction in the pharynx, such as tingling, tightening and pulling.

3. Symptoms of carotid artery compression. When the orientation of styloid process deviates inward excessively, the internal carotid artery will be compressed, and the pain or discomfort will radiate upward to the top of the head or eyes; However, those who deviate outward tend to compress the external carotid artery, and the pain or discomfort mostly begins at the neck equivalent to the tonsil fossa and radiates to the same side.

Patients with obvious symptoms and poor medication effect need surgical treatment, and most of the operations are to cut off the styloid process through oropharyngeal tonsil or neck diameter surgery.