Question
I was just in New York a couple of days ago and had to have my appendix removed. When we were on the plane I slept and kept getting woken up by the pressure in my ears and I kept yawning to pop them. When we landed my neck and throat were kinda sore. (the two may have nothing to do with each other but I'm just making sure.) I thought maybe I just slept wrong or pulled a muscle some how but the pain is getting worse. It's a little below the area you use to generally take a pulse and it's very painful to touch. It also hurts to swallow at times and to yawn. What's going on? I just got out of the hospital and really don't want to go back

Answer
It sounds like you have the "squeeze" that scuba divers often get when changing pressures.  It's very common to have a sore throat after flights; the air you breathe is devoid of water and therefore leaves you prone to airborne infection.  The place where you take your pulse sounds a lot like your lymph nodes being infected, a sign that you are dealing with a bacterial infection, more than likely from your trip.  Certainly keep the fluids going, and see if a warm pack on your ears helps.  If it doesn't get better within two days, go see your PCP.