Finding out what was wrong

In November 2009, I decided enough was enough and I wanted to work out what was wrong with my ear. I went to see a G.P in regards to my blocked ear which was also causing me to hear my pulse.

The first 3 times I went to the G.P, I was told it was just blocked and to use some drops to help relieve the sensation. Not being satisfied with this, I ask for a referral to a Ear Nose Throat specialist to have a look inside my ear.

On initial inspection, nothing was out of place. The ENT specialist checked for a blockage and noticed nothing other than a small fungal infection on my ear drum. In trying to work out what was causing the pulsing in my ear, the ENT specialist held his camera on the base of my ear canal. The image was amazing, a blue lump moving up and down ever so slightly within the canal. The ENT specialist recommended that I have a CT Scan to try and identify what it was. The specialist mentioned 1 of 2 possible causes, my jugulare vein had eroded the base of the canal or it could be a glomus tumour which is quite rare and usually benign.

After a CT Scan and an MRI, it was confirmed that I had a glomus jugulare tumour. While these usually are benign, they are highly invasive and occur in an area called the jugular foramen.The invasive component effects the mastoid cells within the ear as this is the path of least resistance through the ear - thus coming into the ear canal and causing the pulsing in my ear. The jugular foramen is also where the jugular vein and several important nerves exit the skull.

After finding out that it in fact was a glomus jugulare tumour, my ENT specialist referred me onto another as he didn't have experience in treating these.

Once I returned home, I did what most people these days would do.. I started googling! Sadly I didn't find a lot of information specifically relating to people who have been through this and how they felt. There are some good medical sites which contain information regarding the tumours.

At this stage, I didn't feel affected by this news. I was more interested in finding out about it, the different options to treat it and how to press forward.

It was a few more months before I could see Dr (_X_)