i have a hole in my ear? (not ear canal)

[runner07]

okay so ever since i was born i've had this big bump with a hole in it, above my right ear. its located where the top curve meets the side of my head and its about as big as an ear piercing... maybe just a tad bigger. my left ear doesnt have the hole or the bump, it smoothly transitions from the top curve of my ear to the side of my head. sometimes this area would itch and many times this cloudy white/yellow/funny smelling liquid is excreted from the hole. and sometimes a little harder, darker yellow/brownish color looking (it kind of looks like ear wax) stuff would come out of this hole. if anyone could please tell me what exactly this is, and if it could get infected, how would i know? thank you :)

[kimo970]

YES FINALLY I FOUND PEOPLE LIKE ME, this thing wasnt such a big deal till i was 10, then as i grow it just gets more of the white stuff out, and now im 14 it gets MUCH MORE liquid daily, sometimes i try to resist because when i itch it, the upper part of my ear where the hole is grows, i have one on my right ear, i didnt care so much until yesterday when i pressed it to get the stuff out it got out that white stuff WITH BLOOD so i was concerned, btw i live in egypt so cuz of the heat it gets alot of that stuff, and also sometimes when i press around it and i get that white stuff out its kind of a solid with same smell, but i got used to the smell though :D , im still concerned :S

[20almost21]

i have one..never broken any bones..have a good immune system...and always thought i was an alien, adopted, or that it was from some experiment done. never hurts..does leak sometimes when i press on it.. sometimes smells fishy but it evaporates off my finger almost instantaneously..i have dreams that later actually happen :O  no lie..i want it to go away :'( i would rather not be "different" being smelly and weird :/

[lgal11]

omg... I have been wondering if other people have this..because i only know people in my family who have it:My oldest brother and i think one of my aunts have it...my mom too...  its on my right ear...Mine usually looks like a regular ear piercing  but...sometimes it got infected...kind of alot on and of...only secreting a yellowish fluid ...

i am almost 18 now... But im pretty sure i got the surgery  in 8th grade when i was in about 12/13 ish....  i am so glad that i had it done...its such a relief ..no longer have to worry about making sure water doesnt get into it (via shower or pool).. there was a risk of nerve damage..but thank god it turned out welll the scar healed up pretty well too... But i have heard the stubborn thing too.....because my brother n i are stubborn..Plus i dont think its only prevalent amongst asians cuz im nigerian american.... Yay im not alone i think i might have a sixth sense tooo...Lol

[Mousey0475]

I too have this condition, the whole extra hole in the ear thing.  As I have gotten older it has started to bother me more and more.  With the itching and smell.  Little discharge, but the smell, smells just like poop for a lack of a better word.  When it itches, boy does it itch.  I can scratch that thing for hours.

Nice to know that it can be excised out of your ear and head.  I wonder how far and big my tracts/ducts go?  I have always wanted it gone.  I only have it in my right side by my ear.  

Basically, I try to wash it everyday and keep it clean everyday.  I scrub it real good with soap and water.  Never had it infected, just a small cut at the opening from scratching to much.  Knock on wood..

[walktheworldnp]

My son has them and I use to call them ear dimples or tell people I had pierced his ears when he was born just to freak them out.  I recently learned they were called preauricular pits among other things.  So here's the thing... the whole time I breastfed my son, I use to gently massage all the gunk out of his ear with my clean hands while he was eating (not like I could do much else).  I fed him both sides every 3 hours, so he got a lot of cleanings.  Well, I've recently weaned him so the cleanings have stopped (other than regular baths) and now he's formed a horrible cyst.  It looks like it's ready to burst and he doesn't allow me to touch it.  I've taken him to instacare, but they didn't know what it was and just gave me a prescription for antibiotics.  So... to squeeze or not to squeeze... that is my question.  Online, all doctors seem opposed to the idea, saying it makes it worse, but then why didn't he have any infections during his regular ear massages/feedings? (And yes... the pus always smelled like parmesan... weird.)  And it seems like every doctor is pushing surgery.  I prefer to treat that as a last possible course of action... especially since his facial nerves are all wrapped up in their and I've heard that the surgeries aren't usually successful.  Any thoughts?

[Squeetthang]

I too HAD preauricular pit as well. Mine started bothering me in my late teens and severely in my early 20's; it started to smell and continued to itch pretty bad.

I had my ear, nose, throat doctor take them out. If you want/need to have your pits removed, I would HIGHLY suggest a ENT doctor, as the pits can be quite deep (I had one that took over an hour to extract) and it is VERY important that the entire pit be excised.

I used to also stick earrings in them when I was a kid and freak out all my friends!

My mom always thought they were my special little marks and was slightly disappointed when I had them removed. (LOL!)

Interesting to finally have a name to go along with this. I don't remember asking the ENT doc what they were called before he removed them and for whatever reason, today (almost a decade later), I decided to do some research!

Interesting stuff!