Hard, painful lump behind left ear

I'm a healthy, 19 year old female who has recently been under a lot of stress. Just two days ago I suddenly started experiencing a dull, radiating pain that seems to spread from directly behind my ear to parts of my lower left jawbone. The hard painful lump came up very suddenly and I'm wondering if it's a serious condition that I should immediately get checked out or if I should wait a few weeks to see if it goes down. A lot of people are suggesting TMJ, yet I've never had any problem with nighttime grinding, and I don't have any wisdom teeth anymore. I don't feel many if any symptoms of a cold or anything, though I do feel slightly feverish. I was thinking it was to do with swollen lymph nodes, but again, I'm very unsure.