Hard lump behind ear

[Yul]

Hi everyone.
I suffer from HA but last year I was able to keep it under control and stay calm until yesterday.

I was randomly feeling my head and came across a hard fixed lump about small pea size that is located exactly on the bone behind my ear (I guess it is called mastoid bone). I am pretty sure I had it for some time but it never bothered me before and I thought it was some part of my bone. However yesterday I started to rub it and it became swollen and tender so I think this should be a lymph node! Today it is still swollen as I keep touching it once in a while and seems to be around 1 or 1.5 cm in size. It is hard and doesn't move at all, in fact it feels like it is attached to my bone.

Does it sounds like a lymph node to you and could it be that hard and fixed? Or it could be something else?

I am going to see my doctor in one week and I would appreciate any opinion to stop worrying like crazy :weep:

Thanks.

[grace.M]

i have had this! i was so worried and scared i didn't get it checked out for 4 years, but i went to a doctor (finally) and it was just a build up of cartilage because of earrings rubbing or something like that, and its only pea sized with you so i don't think it would be too much to worry about, i still have mine as its harmless. hope that helps :) x

[Yul]

Thank you for your reply!
I read about cartilage too but I am not sure if it swells if you rub it. From my practice lymph nodes behave like this :scared15:

[Fishmanpa]

I am not sure if it swells if you rub it.

It's been my experience that it does.... the lump too! ~lol~

Seriously... poke and prod stuff and it gets irritated and will swell. I'm willing to bet you've been keeping that lump busy. We have all sorts of lumps and bumps on our bodies. I'm sure your doctor will give you the all clear.

Positive thoughts

[Yul]

Fishmanpa, thank you. Hopefully the doctor will confirm that it is nothing.
However Dr Google says it is common to have lymph nodes behind ear and hard and immobile one is not a good sign (I know, I shouldn't have read it) :blush:

[Yul]

I've managed to see a doctor today. It only took him couple of seconds to look at my lump and he said it was a swollen lymph node :ohmy: He said it was normal to be rock hard because it is located directly on a bone and besides mine is small so there is nothing to worry about.
In fact the doctor seemed rather uninterested in my problem and clearly wanted me to leave as soon as possible. Obviously my HA tells me know that I should seek another opinion cos he could have missed something :weep:
I feel so tired of not trusting anyone, my head tells me that doctors are specially trained to tell if there is anything sinister and I should relax and enjoy my holidays. But I just can't stop thinking about it :wall:

[almamatters]

Have had 3 swollen nodes behind my left ear for about 18 months, have had them checked over numerous times by doctor's and they have all agreed they are non sinister. Believe me if they thought they were suspicious you would be referred on ASAP for more tests. They can swell for reasons like an infection and then take ages to go back down. I know from experience that touching them makes them larger as it irritates them.

[dblee]

Hey all,

About 2 months ago, I noticed a hard, bony pea-sized bump behind my left ear. It is sitting on top of the mastoid bone and, for awhile, I thought it belonged there! However, after getting it checked out (and having the bump X-rayed), my doctor said that it was a swollen lymph node. She noticed some irritation on my scalp near the lump and prescribed some sort of dermatological oinment to apply on the irritation area. Will keep folks in the loop. If the lump is there by January 2015, I will have a CT Scan done and take additional measures to evaluate/address it.

Dan

[.Poppy.]

I have one as well. It's a little larger than pea sized, hard, but movable.

I've actually had it since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I remember "discovering" it then, and I remember a few years later having anxieties over it, just sure it was cancer. I was young, and was too scared to mention it so I fretted over the darn thing for years and it contributed to my awful health anxiety.

Then, over 10 years later, I finally got up the courage to just go to the doctor and get my few lumps checked out. Didn't take him long to tell me they were just lymph nodes that hadn't gone down...apparently, sometimes they just take longer to go down or don't really seem to go down at all. He did blood tests for my peace of mind (although he takes my blood no matter the reason I go in there, I think he just likes to torture me :) ). Everything came back clear. And honestly, after 10 years and no other symptoms, I'm not too worried and am inclined to trust him.

Try to have a little faith in your doctor, and try not to let yourself fret. Maybe next time you go in for an unrelated reason (flu, head cold, physical) you can casually mention it again and ask about it being immovable. But try not to let it control you in the meantime - you'll drive yourself crazy! I know I did.

[lifeisbeautiful]

I'm new to this site and I just wanted to share some info with anyone who may be worried about a lump or bump under their skin. I randomly started feeling around my neck and eventually, I felt a bump under the skin behind my ear, almost near the jaw and on the neck; its a little hard to explain, but keep reading and you will understand. It felt attached (immobile), hard as bone, and it was pretty small. I literally obsessed over this bump for 2 months, some nights completely depressed over it, assuming it was a malignant (cancerous) lymph node or tumor. Some days, I completely forgot about it. But within the last few weeks, I was already convinced I probably had cancer and thinking about my family if I died, etc. My anxiety completely took over. I Googled every chance I got, completely obsessing over this bump. I finally, after so long of this excessive over thinking and hypochondria, found out that this is just a BONE! My point of posting this is to get the word out to someone else who may be obsessing over any bump they've just discovered. Please do not rely on my word alone, but just relax and try not to overthink the situation. The chance of this being malignant isn't high. Always get any abnormal bumps checked out by a professional health care provider, but what you feel is probably totally normal if you have no symptoms of feeling sick, or rapidly losing weight, etc.
I found an article about the cervical spine(Look it up) and everything made sense. If you feel directly behind your ear, there is a large bone that you can definitely feel called the Mastoid Process. Under that, you should feel a slight indent, and then a bony prominence called the Transverse Process of the atlas. If you have a hard bone-like bump in the area I'm describing, put your finger on it and rotate your head. If it disappears, that's just a bone.

[Beachlady]

If I’m understanding where you’re prodding, there are no lymph glands there.

As Fishmanpa said, our bodies are lumpy and bumpy all over. I’ve got this weird little bump on my scalp. Had it forever. I call it my intelligence bump. :)