Suppose $G$ is a one-ended word-hyperbolic group and $\xi$ is a (local) cut point of $\partial G$. Fix any visual metric on $\partial G$ and let $U(\epsilon,\xi)$ be the connected component of $\xi$ inside $B(\epsilon,\xi)$, where $B(\epsilon,\xi)$ is the ball of radius $\epsilon$ around $\xi$ in $\partial G$. Let $N(\epsilon,\xi)$ be the number of connected components of $U(\epsilon,\xi)\setminus \xi$.
For a fixed $\xi$, if we let $\epsilon$ go to $0$, is $N(\epsilon,\xi)$ bounded?
(Presumably, it is the same to ask whether (Rips complexes on) horospheres in $\text{Cay}(G)$ must have finitely many ends.)
More generally, does $\limsup_\epsilon N(\epsilon,\xi)$ have some algebraic meaning in terms of $\mathbb{Z}$-splittings?