Question
QUESTION: Hi for a while now I've been very sick ive had chest kidney and stomach infections, theve all. Cleared (confermed by blood tests) however I noticed a large (bigger than a grape) lump behind my right ear its very painful (it feels soild) to touch and causes me to get sever headaches and ear aches. I also have the sensation of a lump in my throat and its hard to swallow I also find my breathing has changed (gotten slower) I've had a ct scan of the brain done to rule anything like that out and blood counts chest xrays etc have come bk perfectly normal..im just wondering if it could be something serious..although my doctor seems to think its not. What do you recommend??

ANSWER: Hello, Tasha.

Question:  during your illnesses, did you do a lot of coughing or vomiting?  Where did you experience the pain of your illnesses?

From my perspective, I would check the muscular attachment to the lump behind your ear (the SCM/sternocleidomastoid muscle).  If very tight, that may be pulling on the connective tissue wrapping around your head, leading to "grape" formation, tension headaches and earaches.

Swallowing is also a muscular action.  The muscles of the tongue and throat are involved.  Do you have tight jaws?  They all go together in swallowing.

Coughing and vomiting might set the stage for those muscular tension patterns to form.

Those questions are starting points for understanding what's happening in you.

With answers, I may be able say something more intelligent and give you a more precise answer and suggestion for recovery.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes vomiting and coughing a lot as in constant for the past 3 months! I've had pain in my jaw but not a tight feeling the pain comes and goes but when its there its sever other than that my doctors don't know were to turn anymore.. This lump just seems to be getting bigger ...if I turn my neck it hurts a lot more or if I lean on it its very sore. I've had awful pain in my stomach also. Its my breathing that's of great concern to however I've been told I may be over concentrating on it.

Answer
Hello, Tasha,

The stomach pain and tight breathing suggest very tight belly muscles triggered by all the coughing.

Neck muscles tighten up when breathing gets restricted.  If you coughed hard enough to hurt your throat, that would account for the muscles of swallowing tightening up.  If you turned your head when coughing, that would account for tightening the neck more on one side than the other.

Does my description fit?

My first suggestion is to locate a practitioner of Hanna somatic education.  The list exists at http://hannasomatics.com.

If you can't find a practitioner near you, ask and I will suggest a self-relief program.