Ear Lump and Ear Cyst: How To Get Better

Have you noticed a lump growing behind or on your ear? Sometimes this ear lump or ear cyst may be painful. If there is pain, it is usually due to an infected skin cyst or sebaceous cyst. These ear lumps tend to be quite common. So we often see them present at our ENTcare Specialist Clinic in Singapore

DOES YOUR EAR LUMP HAVE A TINY “HOLE” OR PUNCTUM?

Patients with such ear lumps may have had a smaller nodule in the same area behind the ear. This lump then became more swollen when infected. Careful examination may reveal a tiny punctum which looks like a spot. This is where cheesy debris may sometimes ooze out just like a pimple.

An experienced ENT specialist in Singapore can recognise straight away that this is an infected sebaceous cyst behind the ear. Your ENT specialist will examine the inside of the ear canal to check for any connecting passage from the ear cyst to the ear canal as this rarely may be due to a developmental problem. So draining the ear cyst or ear lump is usually via a small incision under local anaesthetic in clinic to release the trapped infected secretions.

It is important to try to remove all the remaining lining of the infected ear cyst, to minimise the risk of cyst recurrence. You will receive a course of antibiotics after this minor procedure. After draining the ear cyst, a small cavity is present and washing this cavity out with antiseptic solution is important. We then dress the ear wound with a short length of ribbon packing. It usually heals up nicely.

Some unlucky patients may even have these ear lumps on each ear i.e. two ear lumps in total. Both ear cysts can safely be removed in a similar minor surgical procedure under local anaesthetic by an experienced ENT doctor in Singapore. The one thing you should never do is to keep on squeezing and pressing the ear cyst, especially with your fingers, as this greatly increases the risk of ear infections!

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