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I Have Had An Intermittent Right Ear Ache . I
Question: I have had an intermittent right ear ache. I saw my ent who did a scope and saw normal ear drum. I have also had tinnitus and a hearing test 1.5 months ago showing bilateral mild hearing loss. I wonder how conclusive my scope would be to rule out cancer. A ct I had 2 yrs ago showed a cyst in my right sinus. My ear pain is slight and I do have some congestion. Could there be a malignancy causing ear pain not found on scope exam? And if so would it likely be benign(acoustic neuroma)? Would my ent be offended if I saw my other ent(hearing specialist)? Thanks for all you do.
I have had an intermittent right ear ache. I saw my ent who did a scope and saw normal ear drum. I have also had tinnitus and a hearing test 1.5 months ago showing bilateral mild hearing loss. I wonder how conclusive my scope would be to rule out cancer. A ct I had 2 yrs ago showed a cyst in my right sinus. My ear pain is slight and I do have some congestion. Could there be a malignancy causing ear pain not found on scope exam? And if so would it likely be benign(acoustic neuroma)? Would my ent be offended if I saw my other ent(hearing specialist)? Thanks for all you do.
Brief Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pa
Detailed Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pain but at the same time you are panicking unnecessarily. You have searched a lot about your pain through internet. But please don't be confused and unnecessarily worried. Your ear drum is normal. You have mild hearing loss. These findings are very normal. Tinnitus may be due to many causes. One of the less common cause is acoustic neuroma. Sometimes mild hearing loss can lead to sudden tinnitus. Almost majority of the causes of tinnitus are non pathological. So there is no need for worrying. Moreover the incidence of acoustic neuroma is very less. Don't worry about cancer also. If your nasal endoscopy can't find anything in the nasopharynx then it is very unlikely to have cancer. Start nasal fluticasone spray,steam inhalation as it may decongest eustachian tube. Cyst in CT scan is normal. You can continue spray for the cyst if you have any nasal symptoms. If there is no improvement of nasal symptoms after 3 months you can undergo a small surgery to remove the cyst out. Still if you are too much sceptical about acoustic neuroma you can do a MRI Brain but it will be costly. Moreover any day you can consult any other Ent surgeon for your doubts.
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pa
Detailed Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pain but at the same time you are panicking unnecessarily. You have searched a lot about your pain through internet. But please don't be confused and unnecessarily worried. Your ear drum is normal. You have mild hearing loss. These findings are very normal. Tinnitus may be due to many causes. One of the less common cause is acoustic neuroma. Sometimes mild hearing loss can lead to sudden tinnitus. Almost majority of the causes of tinnitus are non pathological. So there is no need for worrying. Moreover the incidence of acoustic neuroma is very less. Don't worry about cancer also. If your nasal endoscopy can't find anything in the nasopharynx then it is very unlikely to have cancer. Start nasal fluticasone spray,steam inhalation as it may decongest eustachian tube. Cyst in CT scan is normal. You can continue spray for the cyst if you have any nasal symptoms. If there is no improvement of nasal symptoms after 3 months you can undergo a small surgery to remove the cyst out. Still if you are too much sceptical about acoustic neuroma you can do a MRI Brain but it will be costly. Moreover any day you can consult any other Ent surgeon for your doubts.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Brief Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pa
Detailed Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pain but at the same time you are panicking unnecessarily. You have searched a lot about your pain through internet. But please don't be confused and unnecessarily worried. Your ear drum is normal. You have mild hearing loss. These findings are very normal. Tinnitus may be due to many causes. One of the less common cause is acoustic neuroma. Sometimes mild hearing loss can lead to sudden tinnitus. Almost majority of the causes of tinnitus are non pathological. So there is no need for worrying. Moreover the incidence of acoustic neuroma is very less. Don't worry about cancer also. If your nasal endoscopy can't find anything in the nasopharynx then it is very unlikely to have cancer. Start nasal fluticasone spray,steam inhalation as it may decongest eustachian tube. Cyst in CT scan is normal. You can continue spray for the cyst if you have any nasal symptoms. If there is no improvement of nasal symptoms after 3 months you can undergo a small surgery to remove the cyst out. Still if you are too much sceptical about acoustic neuroma you can do a MRI Brain but it will be costly. Moreover any day you can consult any other Ent surgeon for your doubts.
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pa
Detailed Answer:
Hii. It's evident from your question that you are worried about your ear pain but at the same time you are panicking unnecessarily. You have searched a lot about your pain through internet. But please don't be confused and unnecessarily worried. Your ear drum is normal. You have mild hearing loss. These findings are very normal. Tinnitus may be due to many causes. One of the less common cause is acoustic neuroma. Sometimes mild hearing loss can lead to sudden tinnitus. Almost majority of the causes of tinnitus are non pathological. So there is no need for worrying. Moreover the incidence of acoustic neuroma is very less. Don't worry about cancer also. If your nasal endoscopy can't find anything in the nasopharynx then it is very unlikely to have cancer. Start nasal fluticasone spray,steam inhalation as it may decongest eustachian tube. Cyst in CT scan is normal. You can continue spray for the cyst if you have any nasal symptoms. If there is no improvement of nasal symptoms after 3 months you can undergo a small surgery to remove the cyst out. Still if you are too much sceptical about acoustic neuroma you can do a MRI Brain but it will be costly. Moreover any day you can consult any other Ent surgeon for your doubts.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Would there be any other malignancy mri might reveal? My brother had tonsillar(hpv) cancer. I have a history of 2 squamous cell scalp cancers. I'm not particularly worried about acoustic neuroma because of its benign nature but would an mri detect something more worrisome that was not viewable by scope? Thanks again.
Would there be any other malignancy mri might reveal? My brother had tonsillar(hpv) cancer. I have a history of 2 squamous cell scalp cancers. I'm not particularly worried about acoustic neuroma because of its benign nature but would an mri detect something more worrisome that was not viewable by scope? Thanks again.
Brief Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagno
Detailed Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagnosed by endoscopic examination. The best and only modality to diagnose acoustic neuroma is MRI brain with special focus to cerebellopontine angle. Contrast enhanced CT neck is the most sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of any sort of malignancy in the neck and MRI helps if the mass is involving the brain. But if nasopharyngeal carcinoma has not been detected by endoscopy then you should not get worried. But you should be on follow up every 6 months for endoscopy.
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagno
Detailed Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagnosed by endoscopic examination. The best and only modality to diagnose acoustic neuroma is MRI brain with special focus to cerebellopontine angle. Contrast enhanced CT neck is the most sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of any sort of malignancy in the neck and MRI helps if the mass is involving the brain. But if nasopharyngeal carcinoma has not been detected by endoscopy then you should not get worried. But you should be on follow up every 6 months for endoscopy.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Brief Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagno
Detailed Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagnosed by endoscopic examination. The best and only modality to diagnose acoustic neuroma is MRI brain with special focus to cerebellopontine angle. Contrast enhanced CT neck is the most sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of any sort of malignancy in the neck and MRI helps if the mass is involving the brain. But if nasopharyngeal carcinoma has not been detected by endoscopy then you should not get worried. But you should be on follow up every 6 months for endoscopy.
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagno
Detailed Answer:
Hii. I realized the reason of your worry. Acoustic neuroma cannot be diagnosed by endoscopic examination. The best and only modality to diagnose acoustic neuroma is MRI brain with special focus to cerebellopontine angle. Contrast enhanced CT neck is the most sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of any sort of malignancy in the neck and MRI helps if the mass is involving the brain. But if nasopharyngeal carcinoma has not been detected by endoscopy then you should not get worried. But you should be on follow up every 6 months for endoscopy.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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