<human>: I believe I have bells paulsy because I have all the same symptoms but I haven t seen anything about lumps and I have one tiny lump under the skin behind my ear and another under the skin in the mid of my neck. What do you suppose that is? The bells palsy began with a swollen ear but I understand that it can also be cancer. What do you think?
<bot>: Hello, Bells palsy is by definition a paralysis of the nerve that controls the movements of your face whose because we don't know, but we often blame it on a virus. The symptoms of Bells Palsy are as follows: Half of the face will gradually (usually over several hours) become paralyzed. People often realize this either by looking in the mirror, realizing that one of their eyes is not closing or that they are having trouble Chat Doctor.  There may also be changes in taste, where taste in half of the tongue is diminished. The symptoms are hard to notice though since the taste receptors in the other half of the tongue are still functional. There may be sensitivity to sounds and the muscle that helps dampen loud sounds in the ear becomes paralyzes as well. There are usually not external signs other than nerve paralysis, meaning that there should not be any swelling, pain or tenderness anywhere in the face. What you are describing sounds more like an infection or some sort of inflammation because you are having swelling in your ear. The lump behind your ear may be a lymph node that is swollen as there is a collection of lymph nodes behind your ear. I would say cancer is lower on the list of diagnoses, but based on the information I have and lacking a physical exam I cannot rule it out entirely.Nonetheless you should go see your physician to get a proper physical exam which would include a full neurological exam and an exam of the Head, neck, mouth, ears and nose to identify any possible causes. Imaging may also be necessary in which case an MRI would be the best choice without and with added contrast to visualize infection and growths better. Routine blood work would also be recommended including a complete blood count with differential, complete metabolic panel and an ESR to evaluate for signs of infection. Depending on the physical exam, other tests may be necessary. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. 