Children usually love to hoard small objects in their ears. Ideally parents should be aware of what their children are playing with, however most children are so active that it is not always possible to keep track of them. Some children may let the parents know about putting something in the ear at times, when they realise that whatever they put in could not be retrieved. However more often it is forgotten.
I recall the instance when my 10-year-old nephew presented with ear pain and I retrieved half a peanut embedded in loads of wax from his right ear which God only knows when he had put it in! Any way he had no memory of putting in any foreign body in the ear in the recent past.
Foreign bodies in the ear are usually not an emergency except when they are alive. I can recall instances of removing a variety of insects from the ear in patients of all ages. Insects of all hues like mosquitos, ants, cockroaches, leeches, bugs and beetles make their way into the ear.
Another remarkable case was of this middle aged lady, the wife of a prominent doctor in the town, who just barged into my clinic and pushed away the patient already seated on my examination chair in pure agony. When I took a peek into her ear I saw this equally scared and desperate silver fish racing round and round her ear canal unable to make its way out. It had got into her ear while she was cleaning up a book shelf at home .All I did was to pour a few drops of glycerin into her ear and, lo and behold this lady was comfortable in a few seconds.
Insects invariably are very uncomfortable as they move around, probably desperate for their own survival and may also bite or sting you in the process. The ear being a very sensitive organ, it is really not possible to tolerate or ignore this discomfort. The best way to deal with insects in the ear is firstly, to not panic at all. All it needs is a few drops of vegetable oil or glycerin or any ear drop available with you at home. All cooking oils easily available in the kitchen may be used safely. Many people use water or saline, however these are best avoided as they may lead to infections later on. The oil cuts off the air supply to the insect and thereby kills it. The insect may then be safely removed by an otolaryngologist at any later convenient date as a dead insect causes no acute trouble.
Another interesting case I had was of this gentleman who presented to me with the history of a carpenter ant in his ear for about 3 months. Since then this gentleman had been obsessively visiting several ENT specialists with the complaint. However no insect could be visualised in the ear canal but there was a small perforation on his ear drum. Since he had a past history of ear infections no more weightage was given to the perforation.
Since this man was a distant relative, he came to me as a last resort as he was even asked to see a psychiatrist for his obsession with the ant which he was sure had crawled into his middle ear through the perforation. I agreed to operate on his middle ear, though with my own reservations about his story and surprisingly I saw this well preserved but dead gigantic ant resting in the middle ear surrounded by granulations – the body ‘s reaction to the foreign body.
I did have a thankful patient at the end of the day!
Talking of insects in the ear, there really are a lot of people who obsess about insects crawling in and out of the ear. I remember distinctly the hilarious incident of this middle aged gentleman, who was brought to me with the complaint of ants crawling in his ear for a very long time, His relatives had met me privately before presenting the patient to me suggesting that I do something to convince him that there was no ant in the ear as they had been assured of that by several prominent otolaryngologists in the city. With a little advice from our psychiatrist, I then asked them to get a dead ant to me before the patient arrived and very convincingly took out the dead ant from patient’s ear. We all heaved a sigh of great relief as the patient was happy to see the culprit ant removed.
That was however not the end to the story as this gentleman went back with the ant to all the other prominent doctors to prove the point of his sanity and I was at the receiving end of their collective ire.
Alas! this patient again presented to me a few months later and told me that unfortunately, the said ant had managed to lay a few microscopic eggs in his ear and now that they had hatched, his problem had returned with a greater intensity. This time I chose a safer route out of the conundrum by convincing his relatives to take him to a psychiatrist. You can’t win all the time!
I have removed a variety of foreign bodies from the ear canal of children like small buttons, beads, pieces of paper, sponge or rubber. Adults too may end up with pieces of paper straw or grass, feather or the cotton tip of ear buds.
Now a point of note is that the cotton ear bud is not actually meant to be used in the ear in spite of its name. People mostly use it to caress the ear and many even profess to use it to clean the ear wax which however is a myth as you end up pushing most of the wax deeper into the ear canal.
In case of any such foreign body slipping into the ear there is no cause for any panic but it is best not to attempt self removal and to let an E.N.T. doctor remove it at any later convenient date.Some foreign bodies, especially of vegetable origin, like peanuts or beans may swell up in the presence of water increasing the discomfort and also making it more difficult to remove. As a precaution it is best to avoid water getting into the ear in such cases so as to avoid any reaction in the delicate skin of the ear canal. Attempts at self removal may result in the foreign body getting further pushed inside or even in damage to the skin of the ear canal or worse still to the ear drum.
Recently a distraught child was brought to me with a metal bead in the ear which was pushed was so deeply inside the ear canal by the frantic and collective efforts of his relatives that it could not be extricated through the canal. It was later removed under anaesthesia through an incision behind the ear and unfortunately extensive damage to the middle ear was noted.
Chechi, the narrative of the blog is deceptively simple and straight to the point. Much like reading a preview of a can’t put it down book. Please continue sharing such interesting anecdotes. A tiny section of do’s and dont’s and prompts for basic hygiene and care would be extremely useful for lay persons like me. “Happy Blogging”….
Thank you Sheenu for the nice words. Your suggestion is noted. Actually the do’s and don’ts’ are already there in the write-up.
I thought it was a better idea to incorporate it in the story rather than in a didactic way.
Hi Reena, very interesting reading, especially because of the simple manner in which you have described a few of your cases, makes me curious to know about more such cases. I know you have hundreds of them to share. I myself particularly remember the time I was living in a quaint little town. An insect had got into my ear in the wee hours of the morning, a terrified me had called you for advice. The relief was instant and soon I was getting ready for work.
Keep writing, while we wait eagerly to peep into the medico world!
Shampa you have made my day!
How kind of you to remember that incident!
Do click on the ‘subscribe’tab and you will be notified each time I post. Please also forward the link
to your friends who may find it useful. The blog is meant to provide simple tips for common ENT problems.
Very interesting , Reena , reading about ants stories was very entertaining , now waiting for your next one.
Thanks dear for your encouraging words . Please do click on the ‘Subscribe’ tab and you will be informed of my new posts. Please also share the link with your non medico friends. The blog is actually meant for them.
Congratulations on putting up blog with your valuable vast experience and knowledge on ENT. Thank your Reena aunty for sharing. It was quick to read through with important points marked as highlighted. Your sense of humor in writing is Appauled. Looking forward for more useful tips in ENT care.
Thank you Priya for your encouraging words . Do click on the ‘Subscribe’ tab and you will be notified whenever I post a new one.
Reena Aunty, I was always a big fan of your calm, soothing and patient voice (from the very little interaction that I had with you) and your blog is going to be bookmarked by my family now. Not only is there a wonderful sense of assurance in the different experiences that you have shared as an ENT Specialist, but it is just perfect amount of information for moms and dads like me, who panic at the slightest. Virtual hugs and please keep writing !!
Thanks dear
This is very informative and a great article. Please keep us updated with more on the Do’s and Don’ts.
Thank you .Sure will do chechi
Hi Dr. Reena,
I was reading your blog and it seemed very interesting to me. You have described the problems faced by every parent who has a kid or a toddler at home.
To my curiosity if I may ask you a question, what is the first thing to do if an insect like a millipede enters the ear?
I understand that we need to consult an E.N.T at the earliest, but is there any primary measures to be taken as the insect is moving inside the ear till we find a way to reach the E.N.T?
Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks and Regards,
Merlin Paul
Thank you Merlin for your interest in my blog.
As for your query, all you have to do is to pour a few drops of any vegetable oil like coconut oil into the ear canal to suffocate the insect.The emergency is over with that.
You may take the child to the doctor at any later convenient date to get the insect out.I hope I have answered your doubt.
Thank you Dr. Reena. That was helpful and informative.
Loved reading the post, Aunty.. especially that part about the one with the ant obsession 😁 . Awaiting for more such humourous yet informative posts 😊
Thank you. Sure will do.
Hi Reena Didi,
Very easy to read and understand. I also liked the laconic humour in the writing – humour in the medical profession must be there I am sure, but don’t read too much about it. So yes, your story about the middle aged gentleman with the obsession of ants in his ear was awesome! Indeed, you can’t win all the time, and getting the collective ire of all your colleagues is not fun always! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I am sure there are many more, and you will keep them coming.
Fun to read, and fairly low tech for non medical folks like me – keep writing more.
Thanks Rana, loved to hear from you after such a long time.
Hope all is well with you.My target audience, as you have guessed are the non medicos.
Be safe and keep in touch.
Our profession is so blessfull , we get to see many such patients. Managing the Carpenter patients is a talented work. Keep it up Reena.
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement
Very informative, Doctor.
Keep it up,👍
Hi! Joyita, so happy to see you here.
Very elaborate and educating . The humour serves to keep the ignorant hooked to the topic.Nice work.Hope it helps in keeping a few kid-ears free of foreign objects.
hope to present the modules in a simplified manner.
Helpful and funny 🙂 Thanks for sharing madam. Keep them coming.
Sure. Will do. Thanks for the encouragement.