Middle ear tumors

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There are a range of middle ear tumours, which are more likely to to be benign than malignant.

Pathology

The three most common middle ear tumours are (not in any particular order as there are differences in the literature) ^1-3:

glomus tympanicum ~~paraganglioma~~ paraganglioma
congenital cholesteatoma
middle ear ~~schwannoma~~ schwannoma
- most commonly arising from the facial nerve but can also arise from theJacobson nerve, chorda tympani or theArnold nerve ²

Other rarer middle ear tumours include ²

Differential diagnosis

If large, these can be difficult to distinguish from direct extension into the middle ear of

external acoustic meatus malignancies (e.g. squamous or basal cell carcinoma)
nasopharyngeal carcinoma
parotid gland neoplasms
schwannomas originating from outside the middle ear

Additionally aggressive infections (e.g. malignant otitis externa, tuberculous otomastoiditis, Aspergillus) can appear similar.

-There are a range of middle ear tumours, which are more likely to be benign than malignant. <h4>Pathology</h4>The three most common middle ear tumours are (not in any particular order as there are differences in the literature) 1-3: <ul>
~~-<li><a title="Glomus tympanicum paragangliomas" href="/articles/glomus-tympanicum-paragangliomas">glomus tympanicum paraganglioma</a></li>~~
+There are a range of middle ear tumours, which are more likely to be benign than malignant. <h4>Pathology</h4>The three most common middle ear tumours are (not in any particular order as there are differences in the literature) 1-3: <ul>
+<li><a href="/articles/glomus-tympanicum-paraganglioma">glomus tympanicum paraganglioma</a></li>
-<a href="/articles/middle-ear-schwannoma">middle ear schwannoma</a><ul><li>most commonly arising from the <a href="/articles/facial-nerve">facial nerve</a> but can also arise from the <a href="/articles/jacobson-nerve">Jacobson nerve</a>, <a href="/articles/chorda-tympani">chorda tympani</a> or the <a href="/articles/arnolds-nerve-2">Arnold nerve</a> 2
+<a href="/articles/middle-ear-schwannoma">middle ear schwannoma</a><ul><li>most commonly arising from the <a href="/articles/facial-nerve">facial nerve</a> but can also arise from the <a href="/articles/jacobson-nerve">Jacobson nerve</a>, <a href="/articles/chorda-tympani">chorda tympani</a> or the <a href="/articles/arnolds-nerve-2">Arnold nerve</a> 2

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Case 3: ~~Glomus~~glomus tympanicum

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Middle ear tumors

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Pathology

Differential diagnosis

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