Do neck lumps and hearing loss mean nasopharyngeal cancer?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 29-year-old female. I have had ear pressure and fullness since May of last year in my left ear only. I had a hearing test that showed mild hearing loss. About a week ago, I noticed a small lump (maybe two) in my neck. It feels hard, but it hurts when I push on it sometimes. I do not have an ENT appointment for a few weeks, and I am worried I might have nasopharyngeal cancer.

Kindly help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The chances of it being NPC or nasopharyngeal carcinoma are minimal. To rule it out, we need to do a nasal endoscopy.

What hearing loss came out in the test?
Conductive or sensorineural?
Did you take any antibiotics to remove the neck lump in case it is due to any infection?

I suggest you try a course of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic acid combination, appropriate for your weight, so that the lump goes off if it is due to some infection. If you have the report on audiometry, please upload it.

Looking forward to your response in order to help you.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

In the setting of NPC, the patient usually has a conductive type of hearing loss with ear fullness, etc. You seem to have neural-type hearing loss, which is not the usual case for an NPC. Take a course of antibiotics like I said. The node most probably will go off with that. The node appears to be due to the cold or flu.

I hope this helps.

Revert in case of queries.

Thanks and regards.