Problem swallowing, especially small things like rice or dry things like bread?

For about a month, I have been having difficulty swallowing. It seems to be worse with small items like rice and dry things like bread or chips and not as much of a problem with pieces of meat, etc although sometimes they are a problem too. It feels like the food gets stuck and won't go down. It feels as though there is a hand around my throat, but the problem seems primarily concentrated on the right side. My right ear has also felt strange (not sure how to describe it) for the entire time. When this started-not sure if it was the cause or just the first time I noticed it-I got an extremely hot french fry (only the inside was hot, the outside was quite cool) stuck in my throat and burned the area where the problem is now focused. I was waking up choking because I typically sleep on my stomach and urgent care referred me to a PCP who referred me to an ENT. The small town that I am stuck in only has one ENT and my appointment isn't until the second week of August. The PCP had bloodwork done and said that there were no problems-checked my thyroid among other things-and said it could be muscle spasms from stress which I seriously doubt. Could this be from the burn? Will it subside on its own?