Cholesteatoma

Introduction

Acholesteatoma is an uncommon abnormal collection of skin cellsinside your ear.

Left untreated,it can continue to grow and damage the delicate structures deep inside your ear, such as the tiny bones andorgans essential for hearing and balance.

A cholesteatoma can lead to:

an Otitis media ,causing discharge from the ear
hearing loss , which can be permanent
vertigo (the sensation that you, or the world around you, is spinning)
tinnitus (hearing sounds coming from inside the body, rather than from an outside source)
damage to your facial nerve,causing weakness in half your face

In very rare cases, an infection canspread into the inner ear and brain, leading to a brain abscess or meningitis .

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 22 Aug 2016

Articles for cholesteatoma

Introduction

A cholesteatoma is an uncommon abnormal collection of skin cells inside your ear.

What are the warning signs?

Usually only one ear is affected by a cholesteatoma. The two most common symptoms are: persistent, often smelly, discharge from the affected ear gradual loss ofhearingin the affected ear Some peo

What causes cholesteatomas?

Acholesteatoma can develop if part of the eardrum collapses because of problems equalising the pressure across it. This occurs when the Eustachian tube is not working properly.This is a thin tube tha

Seeingyour GP

You should see your GP if you have problems with your hearing or persistent discharge from your ear. Your GP may diagnose or suspect a cholesteatomaafter examining your ear with an otoscope,an instru

To confirmthat you have acholesteatoma, an ENT surgeon will re-examine your ear and may carry out some hearing tests.You may also have a computerised tomography (CT) scan to see which parts of your ea

After surgery

Youwill oftenneed to stay in hospitalat least overnight after the operation, and you should plan to take a week or two off work. Your surgeon can adviseyou aboutthis. Self care advice When you get h

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