I've been having a dull throat pain on the left side of my throat now for a month. I came down with a cold about 2 weeks ago. The cold symptoms have gotten better, but the dull ache in my throat is still there. I do have GERD and was put on Pantoprazole about a week and a half ago. Symptoms of GERD have gone away as well. How concerned should I be about the throat pain? I'm 44 years old and I do smoke and drink occasionally.