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What is an Ear Mass?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

An ear mass is a lump, which may be in the internal or external ear. Ear masses can be caused by a wide variety of medical conditions, ranging from benign cysts of the ear to neuromas, tumors which grow on the facial nerve and sometimes invade the ear. Treatment is usually supervised by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physician, and may also involve an oncologist and other medical specialists, depending on the nature of the mass.

Masses on the external ear are commonly visible and may be palpable. For example, if someone develops a cyst in the earlobe as a result of infection, it can be seen and felt easily. Masses inside the ear can usually only be seen with special equipment. Someone with an ear mass may experience symptoms like one-sided tinnitus, hearing impairment in one ear only, dizziness, and a feeling of itching or irritation in the ear. The mass may also produce a strong smelling discharge.

A person with an ear mass may experience dizziness.
A person with an ear mass may experience dizziness.

One common form of ear tumor is an exostosis or osteoma. These tumors consist of new bone that grows over existing bone, commonly in response to stress, such as frequent exposure to cold water. This type of ear mass can be treated surgically. It is also possible to develop polyps or cysts inside the ear, some of which may be benign in nature. An ENT can examine the ear, take a sample for biopsy to determine what is causing it, and make treatment recommendations.

Frequent exposure to cold water may cause  a common form of ear tumor known as an exostosis.
Frequent exposure to cold water may cause a common form of ear tumor known as an exostosis.

Some more unusual types of ear masses include paragangliomas, a type of growth that were once known as glomus tumors, and cholesteatomas. Cholesteatomas, which are destructive growths, can erode the bone inside the ear if they are left untreated, and can be fatal. Fortunately, these malignant masses are usually identified early, allowing a physician to take prompt action to remove the growth before it has a chance to cause damage to the ear.

An ENT doctor will be needed to supervise treatment for an ear mass.
An ENT doctor will be needed to supervise treatment for an ear mass.

The ear is close to the brain, and a mass in the ear can be a cause for concern; if malignant, such growths may be able to eventually reach the brain. For this reason, it is important to seek treatment for any symptoms or masses which are noticed, and to follow through on diagnostic recommendations so that the nature of the mass can be determined. Once the mass has been thoroughly investigated, the physician will be able to make recommendations about how to proceed with treatment.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a TheHealthBoard researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a TheHealthBoard researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

lluviaporos

@KoiwiGal - If your aunt has always been eccentric you don't really have a lot of options.

But, if she has only begun acting that way since the tumor or growth appeared you might need to consider medical help, because it's possible the tumor itself is affecting her brain. As it says in the article, the ear is close enough to the brain that growths can easily affect it if left untreated.

That's a difficult one to do anything about though, because it would be hard to prove that her decision making ability was being affected without having her examined first. If she won't consent to an exam, I'm not sure what kinds of options are available to you.

You might want to look at the legal aspects though, just in case you have options you didn't know about.

KoiwiGal

My aunt has a large growth near her ear. Our family has a history of cancer, so we all immediately jumped to that conclusion.

Unfortunately she is eccentric and refuses to see doctors of any kind. She won't even go to the optometrist to have her eyes checked and has been wearing the same glasses for decades now.

But, she's had this growth for years and years and although she is hardly in the best of health, she's still able to walk around and so forth.

Her hearing isn't the best, but I think the growth has actually blocked her ear canal.

We've tried everything to get her to go, but honestly at this point there's nothing we can do.

It's a hard thing, but short of knocking her on the head and delivering her to a hospital (and don't think we didn't consider that) there's nothing else to do.

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    • A person with an ear mass may experience dizziness.
      By: slasnyi
      A person with an ear mass may experience dizziness.
    • Frequent exposure to cold water may cause  a common form of ear tumor known as an exostosis.
      By: Antalia
      Frequent exposure to cold water may cause a common form of ear tumor known as an exostosis.
    • An ENT doctor will be needed to supervise treatment for an ear mass.
      By: MAST
      An ENT doctor will be needed to supervise treatment for an ear mass.
    • An ear mass is a lump in the internal or external ear.
      By: Jenny Thompson
      An ear mass is a lump in the internal or external ear.
    • A person with an ear mass may experience irritation in the ear.
      By: Von Schonertagen
      A person with an ear mass may experience irritation in the ear.