text: what would cause a lump on an eardrum? my brother-in-law wrote me from jail that the doctor there says he has a lump on his eardrum that needs to be removed surgically.  i cannot find any information on the web. . . user malfunction i am sure.  i have never heard of this condition and am at a loss as to how to explain it to him.  he looks to me for answers and i have none a lump on the eardrum might be due to scar tissue. if he has ever burst his eardrum before it would have formed scar tissue to heal, but now it has formed a lump that could significantly impair his hearing or make him prone to infection. or it could just be a benign growth that needs to be removed before it gets bigger of causes hearing problems or leads to infection.