Hypertrophy of the tensor tympani muscle presenting as a middle ear mass

A wide variety of benign and malignant middle ear masses have been reported in the literature. We present here an example of a previously unreported type of lesion, a case of hypertrophy of striated muscle, probably the tensor tympani muscle, presenting as a middle ear mass in a 17-year-old male. Clinical evaluation revealed a marked conductive hearing loss and eustachian tube obstruction.