Glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

Nine cases of glossopharyngeal neuralgia have been seen in the last 5 years and are reported. They fall into 2 groups, namely otitic and oropharyngeal, according to the initial location of pain. The condition is probably more common than is recognised, largely because there are diagnostic difficulties with the otitic form where the pain radiates widely into the distribution of the trigeminal nerve and also into upper cervical dermatomes. The pain is more variable than that seen in trigeminal neuralgia but usually responds initially to carbamazepine. The results from surgical section of the ninth and the upper rootlets of the tenth nerve have been good. The clues to the diagnosis are the initial site of the pain in the oropharynx and in or around the ear, the characteristics of the pain and its triggering factors, and a response to carbamazepine.