It might be coincidence. Hiatal hernia affects more than 50% of the population over age 50, though not everyone shows symptoms.

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LoganDark 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Ever since that episode I've had difficulty swallowing; sometimes when clearing my throat the air will unexpectedly blow out my mouth instead of my nose; and I also have to be doing that constantly because my throat never actually feels clear now; it sucks.

I used to be able to swallow gummy bears whole for fun. Or any medication, even huge pills (1g magnesium glycinate, for example -- those pills are not small) -- I didn't even need water. Now, even with water it's hard to swallow any medication, and it's hard to even swallow food half the time. Something definitely went wrong and is now wrong, compared to before.

	▲	sowbug 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		If you're younger, having the condition is less likely, but it's possible you have a nonspecific injury that behaves similarly. One weird trick to try is a "heel drop": https://www.modernapothecary.org/blog/the-healing-power-of-h... Even if you don't have a hernia, it can't hurt to try it; you can even do it accidentally by drinking a sports drink and then jogging around the block. I was shocked to find it ended an awful bout of laryngopharyngeal reflux. (I had a scan long ago that incidentally observed a sliding hiatal hernia, but I didn't have symptoms for many years.) In any event, I'm sorry you're having this trouble, and I hope it resolves itself.