Serious Symptoms Of Ear Cancer

Ear Pain

An individual who is experiencing ear pain may be affected by ear cancer. Ear pain that feels similar to what is produced by the common ear infection would be more indicative of a cancerous tumor or lesion growing in the tissues that make up the structure of the inner and middle ear. External ear pain is the result of skin type cancers that affect the skin around and on the pinna or ear fold. Pain from an inner ear tumor is the result of the cancerous growth taking up space in the brain that houses numerous other critical structures and increasing the overall pressure in the skull. A malignant tumor that forms in the structures of the inner ear is more likely to cause pain with pressure as well as changes in hearing, behavior, and facial nerve function. Cancer that occurs in the bone that houses the structures of the ear can also cause ear pain when it becomes larger and presses on the fragile structures and nerve fibers in and around the ear tissues.

Lumps Under Skin

An individual who experiences lumps under the skin of their outer ear may be affected by ear cancer. The lumps under the skin that develop due to ear cancer have been described to have a pearly white color to them and may range from the size of a small pimple to a grape. The pearly white lumps in ear cancer are most often found on the ear rim or pinna, outer ear canal entrance, and ear lobe. The most prevalent type of ear cancer that is known to produce these pearly lumps under the skin as an indicative symptom is referred to as squamous cell carcinoma. This type of cancer is technically cancer of the deeper layers of the skin that is referred to as ear cancer because it develops in the tissues of an individual's ear structure.