[Spondylosis hyperostotica--a rare cause of dysphagia, dyspnea, and neck-shoulder pain].

Anterior or seldom posterior hyperostosis of the spine (Forestier disease, "diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis") is a common finding in elderly patients but is rarely associated with clinical symptoms. In some cases there is a wide range of symptoms which may not lead primarily to the correct diagnosis. We report a case in which the diagnosis was first made based on an unusual combination of symptoms after ENT and neurological examinations revealed no evidence for the underlying cause.