Clogged Ear Was First Sign of Rare Brain Tumor for Mass. Father

For Stephen Greene, an attorney and father of two, the first symptoms of a brain tumor were subtle — and not obviously linked.

He first noticed a tingling on the right side of his tongue and a slight loss of hearing in his right ear during the spring of 2024, when he was 44 years old.

"I thought maybe I had a little bit of earwax or water in my ear, or I thought maybe I was getting over COVID ," Greene, of Medfield, Massachussetts, tells TODAY.com.

Greene went to his doctor, who didn't notice anything obviously wrong with Greene's ear, and sent him to an ear, nose and throat doctor. In June, he saw the ENT, who removed a little bit of wax , Greene recalls, and told him to monitor his symptoms.

Stephen Greene with his family. Courtesy Stephen Greene

"I honestly didn't really noti