A 34-year-old man complains of hearing loss. He has had multiple bouts of ear infections over the last 20 years and was recently diagnosed with chronic suppurative otitis media. Which of the following is the most likely complication of this condition in this patient?

Cholesteatoma is a complication of chronic suppurative otitis and a rupture of the eardrum. Cholesteatoma is a mass of accumulated keratin and squamous mucosa that results from the growth of squamous epithelium from the external ear canal through the perforated eardrum into the middle ear. Microscopically, cholesteatomas are identical to epidermal inclusion cysts and are surrounded by granulation tissue and fibrosis. The keratin mass frequently becomes infected and shields the bacteria from antibiotics. Squamous cell carcinoma (choice E) rarely occurs in the ear.Diagnosis: Cholesteatoma