What Are the Benefits of NEUROMARK® Beyond a Runny Nose?

NEUROMARK® does more than reduce post-nasal drainage. Published data show measurable improvement in Eustachian tube dysfunction, nasal airway obstruction scores, and overall sinus symptom burden — and early clinical observations suggest a potential benefit in migraine patients that is currently under investigation.

By Dr. Franklyn Gergits, ENT · Sinus & Allergy Wellness Center of North Scottsdale · SinusAndAllergyWellnessCenter.comMost patients come to SAWC asking about NEUROMARK® for one specific reason: they are exhausted by the chronic drip, the constant throat clearing, the cough that never fully resolves. That is the primary indication, and the results are well-documented. But in clinical practice, something broader is happening. Patients are reporting improvements they did not expect — in symptoms they did not associate with their posterior nasal nerves at all.

Understanding why requires understanding the anatomy. The posterior nasal nerve network does not serve only the nasal cavity. It extends into the posterior nasopharynx — the space where the nasal airway meets the throat, where the Eustachian tube orifice opens, and where the trigeminal nerve pathway runs. When NEUROMARK® treats this region with its extended paddle design, the effects reach farther than the drainage complaints that brought the patient in.

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Eustachian Tube Dysfunction — An Unexpected Beneficiary

One of the most clinically significant additional benefits observed following NEUROMARK® is improvement in Eustachian tube dysfunction. Patients who present with chronic ear fullness, pressure, muffled hearing, and the sensation that their ears need to pop — symptoms that are often attributed to fluid or structural problems in the ear — are reporting meaningful relief after posterior nasal nerve treatment.

The anatomical explanation is direct. NEUROMARK®’s paddle design allows treatment to extend inferior along the posterior lateral nasal wall and into the posterior nasopharynx — territory that includes the peripatetic nerve branches serving the Eustachian tube orifice. These branches run through the same region being treated. When the inflammatory and neurogenic load in that posterior nasopharyngeal space is reduced, the Eustachian tube orifice benefits from the same down-regulation.

This is not a coincidental finding. For patients who have failed balloon Eustachian tube dilation, or who have Eustachian tube dysfunction driven by chronic posterior nasal inflammation rather than structural obstruction, NEUROMARK® addresses the neurogenic component that no other in-office procedure targets. At SAWC, we are increasingly treating ETD patients with NEUROMARK® as part of a comprehensive approach — and the results have been clinically meaningful.

Nasal Obstruction — The NOSE Score Improvement

The NOSE score — Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation — is a validated patient questionnaire that measures breathing difficulty, congestion, and nasal airway obstruction. It is the standard tool used to assess candidacy for nasal airway surgery and to track outcomes following procedures aimed at improving airflow.

Published clinical data on NEUROMARK® show measurable improvement in NOSE scores following the procedure — in patients who were treated specifically for drainage and secretion symptoms, not for obstruction. This finding matters clinically because it confirms that posterior nasal nerve overactivation contributes to the subjective sense of nasal obstruction independently of anatomical blockage. When the nerves driving mucosal engorgement and secretory hyperdrive are down-regulated, the airway feels more open — even when nothing structural has changed.

For patients who feel chronically congested despite a structurally patent airway, this is the mechanism that explains their experience. And NEUROMARK® is the tool that addresses it directly.

Sinus Symptom Burden — The SNOT-22 Improvement

The SNOT-22 — Sino-Nasal Outcome Test — is the most widely used validated questionnaire in rhinology. It captures 22 domains of sinus and nasal symptoms including drainage, obstruction, facial pain, sleep disturbance, emotional impact, and ear symptoms. It is the gold standard for measuring how sinus disease affects a patient’s quality of life.

Published data on NEUROMARK® show statistically significant improvement in SNOT-22 scores following treatment — again, in patients being treated for posterior drainage, not for the full spectrum of sinus disease. The improvement in SNOT-22 reflects something that clinicians who treat these patients intuitively understand: posterior nasal nerve overactivation drives a cascade of symptoms that extends well beyond the nose itself. Sleep is disrupted. Energy is depleted. Emotional wellbeing is affected. When the neurogenic amplification is reduced, the entire symptom burden lightens.

Migraine — An Emerging and Unpublished Observation

Among the most surprising findings observed in NEUROMARK® patients at SAWC and elsewhere is a reported reduction in migraine frequency and intensity following the procedure. This finding is unpublished and is currently under active investigation — but the anatomical rationale is well-established.

The sphenopalatine ganglion — the nerve cluster at the heart of the posterior nasal nerve network — is a well-documented target in migraine treatment. Sphenopalatine ganglion blocks have been used for decades to abort acute migraine attacks. The afferent input traveling through this ganglion from chronically inflamed or overactivated posterior nasal mucosa contributes to sensitization of the trigeminal pathway — the central mechanism of migraine generation. NEUROMARK®’s treatment of the sphenopalatine ganglion region and the adjacent trigeminal nerve bundle in the posterior nasopharynx reduces that chronic afferent load.

No claims can be made about NEUROMARK® as a migraine treatment — the data are not yet published and the procedure is not indicated for migraine. But for patients who present with both chronic posterior nasal drainage and recurrent migraine, this is an observation worth discussing at your evaluation. Further investigation is ongoing.

Want to Understand More?

This post is part of the Understanding Your Symptoms series on the Airway & Sinus Wellness Review.

→ What Is NEUROMARK® — and Could It Stop Your Chronic Runny Nose?

→ Will Balloon Sinuplasty Correct My Post-Nasal Drainage?

→ Can Sinusitis Cause Daily Headaches?

→ Is the Combination Procedure Too Much?

→ Airway & Sinus Wellness Review — Full Publication

Understanding Your Symptoms — Clinical education from the Sinus & Allergy Wellness Center of North Scottsdale.

About the Author

Dr. Franklyn R. Gergits, DO, MBA, FAOCO is an osteopathic otolaryngologist and otolaryngic allergist with a focus in rhinology with over 30 years of clinical experience treating sinus and airway disease in Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. He is the founder of the Sinus & Allergy Wellness Center of North Scottsdale and performed the first balloon sinuplasty in Pennsylvania. He holds dual Entellus Centers of Excellence certifications and specializes in comprehensive, personalized, office-based nasal and sinus care — including balloon sinuplasty, NEUROMARK® posterior nasal nerve treatment, Eustachian tube dilation, nasal airway surgery, and comprehensive allergy testing and immunotherapy. Dr. Gergits is the originator of the Posterior Sinonasal Syndrome (PSS) hypothesis — a clinical framework identifying pepsin-mediated posterior nasal mucosal injury as an upstream driver of chronic rhinosinusitis. ORCID: 0009-0000-4893-6332. Preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202603.0858.v1. Dr. Gergits has no financial relationship with Neurent Medical.

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This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified physician for evaluation and treatment of your specific condition. NEUROMARK® is a registered trademark of Neurent Medical.