Lump behind the ear

[ArizonaPlay]

this is actually for my husband, he has recently noticed a hard lump behind his ear and has grown to be very worried about it. He actually has lumps on both sides behind his ears but his left side has grown enough for him to take notice in it, it is hard and does not move around, is not tender to the touch nor is it red or irritated in any way on the outside. He says that it doesn't cause him any constant pain but every once in awhile he will get little sharp pains where the lump is. He doesn't seem to have any other symptoms no fever, dizzy spells no headaches other than the sometimes feeling of like a pulled muscle right where the lump is. I thought it could be swollen lymph node but after reading peoples postings about swollen lymph nodes it just doesn't seem to add up to what he is experiencing. All i know is it has him really concerned because of the fact it is getting bigger and it just seems odd. I hope this can make sense to someone enough to maybe give us an idea at what we might be looking at as far as urgent Doctor's care or well... we just don't really know Thank you for your time and hope to hear from someone soon........

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
It is difficult to comment without examination.  Lump behind the ear could be an abscess, folliculitis (hair follicle infection), lipoma (localized collection of fat), a cyst, an inflamed lymph node or a neurofibroma (localized harmless swelling in of nerve and connective tissue). Your husband may not have been sick but local infections like dandruff or dermatitis too can cause a lymph node to swell and be tender.
It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. A fine needle biopsy or a CT scan can tell for sure what the lump is. Your husband should consult a doctor about this. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[beanie485]

I would go see a dr probably as soon as i could I mean at least for me just to ease my mind cause yes that would worry me as well and i would be begging for a biopsy weather dr wanted to do it or not but that's me i'm paranoid about suspicious lumps to much cancer going around these days and other infections

[recoveredfromamonster]

Could be a stress bump. I do know this type of lump can pop up out of know where and can get kinda big. And then as oddly as they came disappear. This is just one possibility. Could also be a cyst like JM456 suggested.

[JM456]

I could be a cyst that is pressing on a nerve, hence the occassional sharp pain..I have a small one on top of my head