True story: Two days ago, as I was about to drift off to sleep at 2 am, a tiny little bug flew into my ear. Right down to my eardrum, which it fluttered against with its wings.
It was a tiny little moth-like bug, the kind you don't want to find in a bag of flour, and it had been beating against my laptop screen a few minutes before.
This went on for 20 minutes, in which I failed to get it out with a cue tip and shaking my head. It is very weird to have a bug flapping in your head.
I finally gave up and put in eardrops, and stopped the poor thing flapping. I happen to know these little creatures mass almost nothing, and rapidly break up into nearly powder when dead. So while I've not had any bug bits come out, I'm going by the way my ear felt a little stopped up yesterday, and just fine today, and guessing it'll be ok. Oh, and I've been soaking it in the tub and putting in eardrops for good measure.
If I've seemed a little distracted lately, now you know why!
People, never try earbuds to remove the living foreign body from the ear. First stop panicking! Rest the head on a bed and always use fluids eg. lukewarm water to fill the ear canal and usually after few mins, bugs usually comes out or at least dies and helps in easier extraction at the hospital. If you have been diagnosed to have previous ear infection or a persistant ear perforation, always seek medical help, before manipulating yourself. The more the manipulation the more likely the bug or the earbud is going to injure the cavity and later leading a ear infection. I am an ER Physcian and hence you can depend on the info.
I loled at the bug report comment!
JFTR, the cue-tips I used are the big-ended safe kind that intentionally cannot be jammed all the way down the canal to the eardrum.
A few years ago, I had a strange earache, that came on without any swimming or other activity that might lead to an ear infection. Now I'm wondering if that one was also caused by some little bug, perhaps while I was asleep.
Ear canals.. what was evolution thinking?
Never EVER use a cotton bud! 1. Your parents probably taught you that and it's really bad. 2. Cotton buds generally fill the ear canal and then like loading a cannon (That's apt?) push all that crap further down your ear like a ram rod.
Some people use hair grips a bit like a scraper but you need to be dead careful not to damage the ear drum. Best option warm olive oil and pour that in your lughole (Urban Dictionary) after a couple of minutes drain it out. The warmer the better to melt any minging ear wax. :-)