It was a weekend and it happened that I was off work for 2 days. Thanks to the high rate of unemployment among healthcare workers in Kenya, thus doctors have to survive on locums and unfavourable working schedules in private hospitals.

The weekend seemed to be moving on well with a lot of expectations.  A match between Manchester united and crystal palace with Man U winning the game made me even happier.

After the game, it was time to do a little reading to keep myself up to date and prepared to start a new week.

Everything seemed to be going on smoothly until early morning. After waking up, I felt a little irritation in the right ear.

Little by little, the irritation became stronger and stronger. I felt like a heavily loaded lorry was vrooming in my ear. Little did I know that an insect had crawled silently into my right ear.

The more I tried to scratch the ear the more I felt it move deeper into my ear.

It was a time to remember Ear Nose and Throat lectures back in medical school on how to approach a patient with a foreign body in the ear. The only difference was that this time around I was the patient.

All the hopes we give patients promising them that all shall be alright had disappeared.

All I wanted is to have the insect removed from my ear …

What You Should Do If An Insect Gets Into Your Ear

As long as the insect is still alive while in your ear you will not find peace. The buzzing and movement the insect makes while in the ear will seriously disturb you.

Some insects may bite or pierce the wall of the external auditory canal resulting in pain, irritation, and inflammation.

It is important to always remain calm when trying to remove the insect from the ear. A few home remedies may help before going to the hospital.

Be sure to avoid using cotton swabs or probing objects as they can push the bug even deeper into the ear causing damage to your eardrum or penetrating into the middle ear.

The first part of having the insect out of your ear is to pull the ear outwards and upwards to straighten out the external auditory meatus. Then gently shake your head to dislodge the insect from your ear. Be sure not to hit your head.

If the insect doesn’t come out kill it by pouring mineral oil or baby oil into the auditory canal and wait for a few minutes.

Killing the insect will render it immobile thus temporarily relieving the irritation in the ear. Additionally, having the insect dead will allow you time to go to the health facility to have it removed.

Your doctor will flush the insect out of the ear using a syringe and warm water. Be sure to inform your doctor if you have ear problems such as perforation of the eardrum before the insect is flushed out.

Your doctor may also use special instruments such as modified tweezers or forceps to hold the bug and have it removed from the ear.

In situations where the insect is not killed by the oil, your doctor may pour lidocaine, a local anaesthetic agent, into your ear to kill the insect.

Once the insect is removed the doctor will examine your ear to check the trauma caused by the insect. The most common complication of having an insect lodged in your ear is perforation of the eardrum or tympanic membrane.

You may also be given antibiotics to help prevent the occurrence of infection.

… I finally got the insect removed from my ear through syringing done by my colleague at our health facility.