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AIPROPX ReportNewsweek · 1h ago
Woman Notices Ear Didn’t Pop After Flight, Leads to Horrifying Diagnosis
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A 22-year-old woman's trip to Chicago sparked a nine-month quest for answers that ultimately led to news she never could have predicted .
Aida Burkins, of Hemet, California , is a proud mother of two young children, ages 1 and 3. Up until February of this year, Burkins' main focus had been raising her kids.
However, that all changed after a shocking diagnosis that followed months of medical tests and unanswered questions.
"It all started with my ear not popping after my flight to Chicago in May 2025," Burkins told Newsweek .
"I started bleeding into my throat, which would only come out of my nose if I was bent at the hip at about 90 degrees," she said. "My hearing got worse and worse. Then I started getting more tired and losing weight."
When Burkins sought medical advice, she was told it was "just altitude sickness" and would eventually pass. But it didn't.
Eventually, her doctor determined the bleeding was being caused by a mass blocking her Eustachian tube. She was referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.
Several months had passed by that point, and Burkins' hearing continued to deteriorate.
"Everything sounded so muffled, and I had a ringing that wouldn't go away," she said.
At the ENT appointment, her doctor examined her and discovered a mass. He said it could be cancer , though that was unlikely given her age, and noted that her adenoids were inflamed, enlarged and needed to be removed.
For the next two months, Burkins waited for the results of a biopsy. In the meantime, she noticed the left side of her throat had become very swollen and was obscuring her jawline .
She underwent a second biopsy on her neck.
"The doctor told me he had never seen anything quite like what I had going on," Burkins said. "He couldn't be sure it was cancer, but he said it was very suspicious."
CT scan results showed she had "lumps and bumps everywhere," including in lymph nodes at the base of her skull. Burkins underwent surgery, and the biopsy results eventually confirmed her worst fears. In February 2026, she was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
"Hearing I have cancer, all I thought about was not being able to see my babies grow up or do the things they want to do in life. It was horrifying," she said.
NPC is a rare type of head and neck cancer that begins in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat located behind the nose and above the back of the mouth. Common symptoms include persistent nasal congestion, nosebleeds, hearing loss or a blocked ear, ringing in the ears, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, headaches and facial pain.
NPC is unusual because it is strongly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, along with genetic factors and certain environmental exposures. The disease is much more common in parts of East and Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Arctic than it is in the United States where it is very rare.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are fewer than one case per 100,000 people each year in the U.S.
Burkins has undergone chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the months since her diagnosis and is now nearing the end of her treatment.
"My prognosis is overall good," she said. "Everything is shrinking and responding to the treatments my doctors have been giving me, so they're optimistic that I'll be cancer-free."
Burkins hopes her story will raise awareness among people experiencing similar symptoms.
"Cancer doesn't discriminate," she said, referring to the fact she is only 22.
More than anything, she hopes she can reach a point where she is cancer-free and able to live her life while watching her children grow up.
"My babies have definitely been my rock through all of this and have been my biggest purpose and reason for fighting and moving forward with my life," Burkins said.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Tony Phillips .
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