Cholesteatoma is not a tumor as it is usually called, but a cystic structure located in the middle ear and mastoid cavity. The inner wall of the cyst is compound squamous epithelium, and the cyst is filled with exfoliated epithelium, keratinized material and cholesterol crystals. It is called cholesteatoma because of the presence of cholesterol crystals in the cyst. One is congenital cholesteatoma, also called primary cholesteatoma, which is formed when epithelial cells remain in the middle ear mastoid cavity during embryonic development. The other type of cholesteatoma is acquired and is also called secondary cholesteatoma. It is a type of chronic suppurative otitis media and is the most serious and prone to complications. In patients with cholesteatoma otitis media, the epithelium shed in the middle ear gradually accumulates and grows larger and larger, expanding in all directions, thus causing destruction of the adjacent bone, which is damaged upward, inward, and backward by important blood vessels and nerves, resulting in facial nerve paralysis once the nerves are damaged. Expansion into the skull can lead to life-threatening complications such as brain abscess. Therefore, once cholesteatoma otitis media is diagnosed, it should be treated surgically as soon as possible to avoid complications. There is a lack of effective drug treatment. The goal of surgical treatment is to remove the lesion as completely as possible, stop the flow of pus, keep the ear dry, and preserve or repair the hearing as much as possible. As a patient, you should go to a hospital with good conditions to find a highly qualified surgeon to operate on you if possible.