Hi Lisa,
 
Hello from a fellow longtime lurker/rare poster here.
 
I had the same problem with my old gal (Cheshire, 9 years 3 months) last
year -- bloody encrusted mass in the ear canal, bigger than a pea and
smaller than a marble.  The mass seemed to come on pretty fast for
Cheshire also.
 
I took her to our vet, and she recommended removal, primarily for
Cheshire's comfort.  She asked if she was scratching alot, showing other
signs of discomfort, etc.  Cheshire was scratching her ear fairly
frequently, and shaking her head sometimes.  It seemed to be something
that was really bothering her, so I had the vet remove it.  This was in
April.  In October, the mass returned again.  Same presentation, same
reaction on Cheshire's part, same solution on our part.
 
Considering the 2nd presentation, I was concerned that the growth may
be cancerous, and I asked the vet if we should send a sample out to
pathology.  She said she would do so if I wanted to, but that in her
experience as a vet she had not found such a growth in the ear like that
prove to be cancerous.  After some more discussion of possibilities we
decided not to send any tissue out -- this time.  So far, so good --
don't see any new growth coming back.
 
One thing the vet suggested for Cheshire before we could get her in for
surgery was to apply Bactoderm to the affected area (I applied it 2x a
day).  I had bought the Bactoderm through the vet for another problem
earlier in the year, but I think you could also use something like
Neosporin (which I have used sparingly on Cheshire in the past for skin
irritations, and for her now-deceased sister, Bear, when her tail was
bald and was getting sores during her cancer treatment days -- we would
apply it to the affected areas and wrap it in self-stick gauze).
 
Hope this info helps you in some way.  Good luck with Peanut!
 
Best regards,
Michelle and the Cheshire ferret and Cathain the wonder Bengal (missing
the March Bear)
[Posted in FML issue 4394]