What are ear tumors?
Ear tumors are growths on the outside of your ear or inside your ear canal. The ear canal is the tube that connects the outside of your ear to your eardrum.
Ear tumors can be cancerous or noncancerous
Noncancerous tumors that grow in your ear canal can cause ear blockages, hearing loss, and a buildup of earwax
Sometimes, noticing you can’t hear as well as usual is the first sign of an ear tumor
Doctors may see your tumor when they look in your ear
Cancerous tumors include skin cancers that can happen in and around your ear
The Outer Ear
Noncancerous ear tumors
Noncancerous (benign) tumors that can grow on your ear and in your ear canal include:
Cysts (small sacs filled with fluid)
Bone tumors
Doctors will do surgery to remove a growth that blocks your ear or causes hearing loss.
Cancerous ear tumors
Cancerous ear tumors can be:
Cancer in the cells that make earwax
Skin cancers, which can be on your ear or in your ear canal
Skin cancers that can affect the ear include:
To treat skin cancer on your ear, doctors may do:
Surgery
Radiation therapy (a type of treatment that shrinks tumors and destroys cancer cells)
