Lump behind ear: what to do?

Behind the ear there is not only the skin, but also the mastoid bone. A lump behind the ear can be related to inflammation of this bone, especially in children, leading to mastoiditis. This disease causes an inflammatory condition, with general malaise, ear discomfort, fever, secretions, headaches and redness of the ear.

Mastoiditis can be caused by multiple factors. The most common is the infection of the middle ear, which requires an antibiotic treatment for its elimination. If you feel that you have a lump behind your ear, go to the doctor to make a diagnosis and tell you what is the best treatment to follow.

Epidermal or sebaceous cysts develop on the skin. They are generally circular, elastic cysts and may have a pimple in their central part. To differentiate them from adenopathies, the specialist looks at whether the lump moves or not, that is, whether the skin slides over the cyst. If it does not do so and the skin is moved together with the cyst, it is called a sebaceous cyst.

The epidermal cyst can be of different sizes, from very small to several centimeters. It does not react to oral medications or creams. Its treatment is surgical, but it is only operated when the following circumstances occur:

• The size is very large.
• It produces deformity in the atrial lobe.
• It is painful.
• Annoying on a day-to-day basis.
• It is inflamed repeatedly.

In many cases they are asymptomatic and intervention is not necessary; you just have to check them from time to time to see how they evolve, bearing in mind that these sebum cysts are not bad. Sometimes they change or decrease their size, but being encapsulated glands over time they grow back.

Lumps behind the ear can also be lymph nodes that are swollen. When this happens they are called adenopathies. They have recognizable characteristics:

• They are elastic to the touch.
• They are easily mobilized with the fingers.
• They are small in size, generally they do not exceed a centimeter.
• They can be painful.

Lymphadenopathy does not usually appear isolated. When the lump is related to the ganglion chain, it is often accompanied by other equal ones in the area. These nodes can become inflamed by an old infection that the patient had in childhood, or at some other time in life, causing them to become hypertrophic. They measure around half a centimeter although, on occasions, when they are inflammatory nodes reactive to an infectious process in the scalp, they can reach more than 1 cm, be painful on palpation, and present redness at the level of the skin. It could be an infection due to folliculitis or a parasitism (lice on the scalp). The nodes are the signal that the body is fighting infection. Once the infection clears, so will the nodes.

It is usually difficult to differentiate lipomas from an epidermal cyst, they can appear in any area where fatty tissue is located. The most common age group to develop this disease is between forty and sixty years old.

These balls of fat are usually larger and benign. They do not have a defined outline at all and their touch is soft, they can be moved easily if we press it with our fingers. The treatment they require is surgical, if they cause discomfort and pain, they should be removed. By means of a liposuction it could also be removed using a large syringe and a needle.

Bumps and lumps behind the ears caused by acne appear as a black, white or reddish. It is simply the excessive production of fat that accumulates in the pores of the skin and that also appears on the face, neck or back, among other parts of the body. The causes can range from stress and hormonal changes to the effect of some medications. The only complication that can exist is that it becomes infected.

To treat acne, it is essential to go to a dermatologist as he will evaluate your case and, if he deems it appropriate, will prescribe the most appropriate creams or medications.