Buzz
Surprisingly, insects and small creatures often enter human ears, usually unnoticed during sleep. When this unsettling event happens, the initial signs typically include sharp pain and intense itching. Professional medical help is generally required to safely remove the intruders.
While these incidents are distressing and uncomfortable, they rarely result in lasting harm. However, the fear of living creatures entering their ears has led some people to start wearing earplugs at night. The experiences of these ten individuals highlight why sleeping with earplugs could be a wise precaution.
10. Hendrik Helmer
In 2014, Hendrik Helmer from Darwin, Australia, woke up at night due to intense pain in his right ear, realizing an insect had entered it. Fearing it might be a venomous spider, he attempted to extract it using a vacuum cleaner. When that didn’t work, he tried rinsing it with water, which agitated the insect and worsened the pain.
Helmer then roused his roommate, who took him to Royal Darwin Hospital. There, a doctor successfully extracted a 2-centimeter (0.8 in) cockroach using forceps after immobilizing it with oil. Following the removal, Helmer struggled with balance issues and experienced sharp pains whenever he moved his jaw for several days.
9. Radhika Mandloi
In 2016, four-year-old Radhika Mandloi was brought to the hospital after complaining of severe ear pain and itching. Dr. Raj Kumar Mundra performed two 90-minute surgeries, extracting 80 maggots from her ear. Mundra warned that delaying treatment could have allowed the maggots to potentially damage her brain, as some maggots feed on living tissue.
Mundra linked the infestation to unsanitary conditions. Flies, drawn by foul odors, laid eggs in her ear, putting her life at risk.
8. Catherine McCann
In 2012, 92-year-old Catherine McCann, a resident at the Lutheran Home for the Aged in Arlington Heights, Illinois, suffered a maggot infestation in her ear. Doctors at Northwest Community Hospital recorded the removal of 57 maggots while McCann screamed in pain. Experts concluded the larvae had been present for up to three days. Although the nursing home was inspected for flies, none were found, and it’s speculated a fly entered her ear during an outdoor stroll.
McCann’s ear canal had been enlarged after prior surgery, and she was undergoing treatment involving ear flushes, drops, and antibiotics. While the nursing home insisted she received proper care, her attorney doubted these claims. McCann’s husband, who paid $120,000 annually for her care, filed a lawsuit against the facility, citing “emotional distress and negligence.”
7. Rochelle Harris
In 2013, Rochelle Harris brushed off a fly from her ear during a trip to Peru and didn’t give it much thought until she began suffering from headaches and facial pain. One morning, she woke up to find fluid on her pillow. A specialist at the Royal Derby Hospital in Northern England discovered maggots in a tiny hole in her ear canal, revealing that a New World screwworm fly had deposited eight larvae there.
Harris feared the larvae might have reached her brain. After attempts to flush them out with olive oil failed, she underwent surgery. Before their removal, she could feel and hear them moving and scratching inside her ear.
6. Anonymous Woman
A 48-year-old woman in Taiwan visited a hospital due to severe ear pain. When doctors removed her hearing aid, they noticed a “bloody fluid” in her ear. A fruit fly larva was eventually extracted from her ear canal.
The infestation had caused erosion near her eardrum. She was prescribed topical antibiotics, and within two weeks, her ear canal had fully healed.
5. Shreya Darji
In Deesa, Gujarat, India, 12-year-old Shreya Darji has reportedly been dealing with ants colonizing her ear. Every day, 10 to 15 ants crawl out, prompting doctors to repeatedly remove the insects.
Efforts to flush Darji’s ear with antiseptic have failed, and laparoscopic cameras have not located a queen ant. Doctors continue to monitor her as they work to unravel the mystery.
4. Michael Gorman
In 2014, during a friend’s birthday party, Michael “Mickey” Gorman from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, found both a tick and a moth lodged in his ear. A woman used tweezers to remove the intruders while Jacob Stanfield recorded the process and later uploaded the video to YouTube.
The tick was extracted swiftly and without issues, but the moth required multiple attempts over two minutes before it was successfully removed. Stanfield then released the moth outside. It had entered Gorman’s ear when he attempted to swat it near his head.
3. Spider
In 2016, Victoria Price from Porthcawl, Wales, developed an earache after her daily swim. She initially suspected trapped water or a perforated eardrum.
Her husband inspected her ear and mentioned he believed there was something alive inside. At the hospital, triage nurse Sarah Gaze used forceps to extract a large, squirming spider from Price’s ear. Despite the ordeal, Price stated she remains unafraid of spiders.
2. Anonymous Man
Crickets, being nocturnal, often seek shelter during the day. In 2014, a man in India discovered one had taken refuge in his ear canal. After feeling itching and pain, he visited the South Zone ENT Research Centre in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Doctors used tweezers to remove the 5-centimeter (2 in) intruder, but not before the cricket tried to escape by crawling deeper into the man’s ear. While the cricket couldn’t sting, it caused enough irritation to temporarily affect his balance and hearing.
1. Grant Botti
In 2015, 14-year-old Grant Botti from Arkansas pulled a 10-centimeter (4 in) centipede out of his own ear after feeling intense pain that signaled the creature’s presence.
Following treatment at a nearby hospital for abrasions inside his ear caused by the centipede, Botti was discharged. Doctors admitted they had never encountered such a case before.
