Long term submandibular pain

[Jeram]

Hey guys, so for the past 2 years I've had a real weird mild off and on pain in my left side submandibular gland. When I press on it, it makes a crackling sound to my ear. It's no bigger or different than the one on the right, just alaways sore and making the weird noise when I yawn or press it. Weirdly enough enough, when it's pressed it'll stop making the crackling sound for a little bit when pressed again. Also getting pretty sharp pain by the ear and jaw area when yawning recently. If I press it torward my throat  a bit, it'll hurt my throat. The doctors tell me it's mostly from smoking and stress. I also have a bit harder time swallowing saliva on that side, which the unaffected side I can feel the right side perfectly. Ever since this has been an issue , I have had a pretty sore neck as well. So I'm at a loss, seeing I really haven't found any symptoms like mine online. Most the doctor's brush it off, and the dentist didn't really notice much when they deep cleaned my teeth a few months ago. Thanks for reading, as I'm not too good at this thing.