What about other animals going in and out?  Ear mites are possible and so
is a fungal infection.  Some ferrets just are prone to gunkier ears than
others, but when we have encountered that it is life-long, not something
which just turned on one day.  You vet will have meds for both of the
above possibilities.
 
>I may get flamed for this, as a couple people told me that surgery was
>my best option, but I want to try her on Lupron and see if it helps,
>then go from there.
 
Just remember that Lupron is not a cure; it merely controls symptoms for
a while.  How long depends on the ferret, the growth and the location.
It may help you to read some back posts at the FHL Complete Archives
(sonic weasel addy below signature) especially a recent post of vet Ruth
Heller (her addy contains the word "ferrethealer" which will help your
search).  We have chosen Lupron when a ferret is not a surgical
candidate, have used it to "re-set" a ferret who had trouble returning to
normal after surgery, and have used it with one very questionable one to
get a handle on if the problem was likely an adrenal one.  A short wait
of a month or two usually is not the end of the world, so I certainly
don't plan on jumping on you :-).  We all get nervous when a ferret has
surgery; you are not alone in that.
 
If the growth was large enough to feel or there is a sweet-rotty smell to
the ferret, on the other hand, I simply would not wait since that is more
rare and is more likely to indicate a rapidly growing one which might
mean a malignant source.  In that sort of possible case we always jump
rapidly to surgery because in that case it may be caught when it is
localized.  Jumping fast in such a situation has caused us to have a
situation in which surgery alone was curative for an adrenal malignancy
and that ferret went on to have another 3 and 1/2 years of good life.
 
As usual: I am not a vet, just someone who has 20 years of ferret
experience and has been active in assorted ferret health things for a
long time.
 
Sukie Crandall
Recommended on-line health resources:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
http://www.ferretcongress.org  (Critical References)
[Posted in FML issue 4033]