Hello and thanks for your post,

I am so very sad to hear about your dad. it must have been a very difficult time for your family.

Unfortunately without being involved in your dad's care it is really only his own medical team that can tell you any more. 

The hospital will have written to your dad's GP with an explanation of how he had died.

If the GP has not got the information that you require, you could try and have a conversation with his specialist at the hospital. I am sure that his ear will have been swabbed when he had his infection to establish the most appropriate antibiotics but whether there was a post mortem after he had died I can't be sure but they should have told his next of kin if there was one.

I do hope that you find out the information that you are looking for if that is what you want to do but do remember that this is a rare condition. 

If you would like to chat this through with one of the nurses on the helpline then you are more then welcome to give us a ring. Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040.

All the Best,

Catherine

Hi Thanks for replying. We have had numerous chats and meetings with his specialist after he died to find out things. It just has been playing on my mind though if his ear infection (as it was so bad) could've been a factor to him getting a brain tumour as if left untreated which his was for weeks it can spread to the brain and cause Meningitis I think. 

Which is why I copied & Pasted this...

Serious complications that affect other parts of the body include:

malignant otitis externa, an infection that spreads to the base of your skull and is more likely to affect older adults and people with diabetes or immune deficiencies

widespread infection, a rare, potentially life-threatening complication that occurs when malignant otitis externa spreads to your brain or other parts of your body.

Maybe I will ask the Brain Tumour Charity? 

Hello hatty123 and thanks for getting back to us, 

It often isn't possible to pin point why a person's cancer develops, but there are some known risk factors. These are things that have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of developing a disease, however despite having risk factors some people will never develop it so not everything can be explained. 

The known risks and causes of brain tumours are explained on our website at this link , take a look and you will see that an ear infection isn't one of them. 

Despite its name, malignant otitis externa isn't a cancer, but, as you have read, it can be a potentially life threatening ear infection affecting the base of the skull which can lead to serious complications. I am not sure if this is what your dad had.

The Brain Tumour UK Charity also has some information about the causes of brain tumours, click here to find it. 

I hope this helps. Give us a ring if you want to talk anything over. Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and we are here from 9-5, weekdays. 

Best wishes,

Julia