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Have A Painful Knot At The Base Of Skull Causing Headache And Hurting Ear. What Could It Be?

Posted on Tue, 18 Jun 2013

Question: Hi. I have a painful knot at the base of my skull causing terrible headaches in the back of my head, & now i can barely turn my head. My right ear is also starting to hurt now. I noticed the knot a week ago.

Answered by Dr. Krishna Kumar (1 hour later)

Hello,
thank you for sharing your problem with me at WWW.WWWW.WW
I notice your description of a knot at the base of the skull, but I am not quite sure about the 'feel' of the knot.Is it hard like bone or firm to smooth? If the knot is hard then you may have to under go xrays to know more about it. Rarely infections can cause such severe pain and swelling. Please let me know if you have any fever and also how does the skin over the knot look and feel? (Is it reddish, is it warm?). Meanwhile please try medicines for pain.Please get back to me at the earliest
Thank you

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Krishna Kumar (5 hours later)

Yes its a hard knot like bone, but when i push on it, it does move around a little.

Answered by Dr. Krishna Kumar (13 minutes later)

Hello...
thank you for getting back. If it is hard and mobile it could be lump. This lump needs extra investigations to determine the nature. You need x-ray, ultra sound scan of the swelling and blood tests including ESR and c-reactive protein.

It would be better to be seen and examined by a surgeon or physician before getting the tests done. Since the ear hurts it could be a lymph node as well.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar