Yesterday I discovered a soft lump in the top of my left ear lobe (Pinna?) I crushed it between my fingers and I had fluid all through my upper ear lobe and just at the top of the ear canal.

It became a little swollen, red and painful to the touch only. It looked like the start of cauliflower ear.

My earlobe was not pierced, cut, bitten, or had any external trauma of any kind. I'm not a boxer or wrestler. And there was no visible skin infections at all, the skin was fine.

Today I had it drained by a physician and she got a lot of the fluid out but she said it was likely not bacterial and she thinks it was just a spontaneous cyst. She wrapped my head in a bandage to maintain the form of my ear to wear for 12 hours but I could only wear for 4 cause it gave me a headache.

Right now there is still a little bit of fluid in the area just above the ear canal. And a little sore from needles and still a little red and swollen.


What could have caused this?

Should I get the ear fully drained or will it drain on it's own?

Was the head wrap bandages necessary?

How long will swelling take to go down and should I ice or use Ibuprofen?