Spot Beneath Ear

[smccullagh]

Around 5 weeks ago I developed a small growth beneath the skin under my right ear on the soft part just below my lobe and just behind the jaw bone. The surface is a little red although it is mostly beneath the surface. It is around 1cm long and perhaps 4mm wide (it is pointing downwards in line with the ear lobe). I cannot pinch the skin above it, and when I pull the skin away from my neck it also moves, so it is definitely part of the skin. It has reduced in size a little since appearing although has not completely gone. I was just wondering if you would be able to tell me what it is? I was guessing a spot, although I would have thought if that was the case it would have gone by now?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It's probably a cyst.  It could be a swollen lymph gland from a viral infection.  I suggest you leave it alone.  If it persists, show it to a doctor next time you go.  It most likely should be left alone even if it doesn't disappear.  Rubbing or squeezing it will just make it last longer and stay larger.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[smccullagh]

Thanks for that, I might just show it to my doctor anyway, just to be on the safe side. I did have some kind of virus recently, although it didn't really coincide with that.

It's more elongated rather than the general lymph node shape, and is definitely not subdermal.

How likely is it that it could be a lymph node?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Pretty likely, I'd say, given the location.

Dr. Rockoff

[smccullagh]

Thanks for that. I did some further research online and read that sebaceous cysts could be caused by skin/follicle trauma, and I seem to remember pulling a few hairs from that area not long before it appeared (can't remember why - nervous habit most likely!). I'll go to my doc and ask for his opinion...