Serious Symptoms Of Ear Cancer

Hearing Loss

An individual who experiences hearing loss may have ear cancer. This symptom typically only occurs when an individual's cancer has spread into the middle or inner ear. Cancers that start in the salivary glands, earwax secreting glands, and sweat glands are known to produce hearing loss. An individual who has cancer that has infiltrated their temporal bone where the ear is housed may also experience hearing loss. Hearing loss is the result of the swelling of an individual's ear canal in some cases, where sounds are unable to penetrate through the obstructed space. Conductive hearing loss is the type of hearing loss that occurs when cancer or some other mechanism stops the sound from reaching the inner part of the ear where it is connected to the brain. Sensory nerve hearing loss can also occur in patients affected by cancer that causes damage to the auditory nerve. When cancer causes conductive hearing loss, it can sometimes be recovered. However, sensory hearing loss caused by any mechanism is usually permanent.

Discharge From The Ear

An affected individual may experience bloody or abnormal discharge from the ear as a symptom of their ear cancer. Discharge from the ear is a symptom that most commonly occurs in individuals affected by a form of ear cancer that is causing damage to the ear canal or middle ear structures. Discharge is a term used to describe when any type of liquid drains from the inside to the outside of an individual's ear. Malignancy that affects the skin of the individual's ear canal and middle ear is typically a form of carcinoma, either squamous or basal cell. These cancers of the skin cause ulceration and irritation of the surrounding tissues. Bleeding and discharge of fluid from the cancerous ulcer located in the ear canal is what the patient is observing when they have discharge from the ear. Cancerous lesions that cause an affected individual's eardrum to rupture or burst can also produce a bloody discharge.