‘Bug’ged Up!

Bugs Inside the Ear Can Sometimes Cause Hearing Loss

An Otoscope Helps to Find the Bug inside the Ear

During one of the regular night outs in my college days, one of my friends suddenly started complaining of ear pain. Engrossed in watching one of the most hilarious episodes of an English series we ignored her pain and continued laughing. We ignored her pleas until she finally screamed for help holding her ears and was rushed to our campus hospital immediately in the middle of the night. The physician examined her ears and immediately shocked us with his diagnosis-a bug inside my friend’s ears!

Yes. You heard it right and there is no need to re-read the diagnosis! Insects are disgusting for many of us and some might even faint when they find bugs crawling around ears of people trying to find refuge inside. Although uncommon, bugs can sometimes enter our ears and stay inside it for a while.

Noisy Connection
There are quite a few scenarios that pave way for bugs to enter our ears. Many of our apartments house cockroaches, lizards, mosquitoes and flies and seem attractive to quite a few other insects as well. In such cases, it is easy for the insect to crawl into our ear while sleeping and cause discomfort. Insects are commonly seen in plant-dense areas such as forests, gardens, parks and zoos. Gardening is fun and a great way to beautify our lovely homes. But along with fruits, flowers and veggies our gardens keep nurturing insects as well. Visiting hilly areas, dense forests for trekking/hiking purposes or even spending time in our garden attract insects that can fly into our ears. These bugs mostly die immediately after entering our ears but rarely, an unfortunate few find themselves fighting against live bugs inside their ears that keep moving around the ear seeking for a way out! In this case the person experiences extreme discomfort, pain and irritation.

A bug in the ear is not dangerous but can lead to complications sometimes. It is better to remove the insect as quickly as possible to avoid further damage.

Are You Having A Bug Inside Your Ears?
Most times, the person does not see the bug entering his/her ears and realizes its presence only after symptoms start to show up. The most common symptoms include pain and discomfort. Our external ear and the outer side of the eardrum have cranial nerves that act as messengers sending information to the brain. Presence of any external object (for instance, a bug) can irritate these nerves and cause pain.

Very rarely, the insect stays alive and keeps crawling inside the ear to find a way out. Depending on the type of bug inside the ear, the bug might also repeatedly sting or bite until it is trapped inside. This can be extremely uncomfortable and painful that can also lead to redness, swelling or discharge (blood or pus comes out which indicate injury to the ear).

Adults are quite familiar with the buzzing noise and can readily identify a bug with its buzzing sound and movement. But it is quite difficult to identify the cause of pain in a child’s ear. If your kid keeps constantly scratching or rubbing any of their ears, it might be an indication of a bug inside the ear canal.

Do’s & Don’ts For Removing the Bug
A bug inside the ear is not life-threatening but has to be done carefully to avoid complications.
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Do’s

• Stay calm when you try to remove the bug, either from your own ear or from someone else’s
• Bend your ear towards the affected side and gently shake it to take out the bug
• If the bug is alive, pour some vegetable oil or baby oil into the ear canal to kill the bug
• If the bug is dead, pour some warm water and flush it out using a syringe.

Don’ts

• Use a cotton swab or sharp object which can push the bug further into the ear and cause damage to the middle ear or eardrum
• Try to remove the bug at home if your child has a history of ear problems such as perforated eardrums or frequent ear infections.
• Keep trying to remove the bug if you have tried any of the above methods and it doesn’t work. Please seek the help of a physician immediately.
  
  ​If it is not possible to remove the bug at home, meet your physician immediately. He/she will make use of an instrument called an otoscope which can be used to look inside the ear. Once the physician confirms the presence of a bug, he/she might pour some olive oil or mineral (in case, the bug is alive) before flushing it out of the ear with water. When this does not work out, the doctor might try to pull it with a pair of tiny forceps. Children might require sedation for this while most adults don’t even require the use of local anesthesia to help the doctor remove the bug using suction, forceps, a probe, ear syringe or a modified tweezer. Pain starts to subside slowly following the removal of the bug. Any swelling or inflammation due to stings also take a few days to heal. Very rarely, antibiotic medication is required to prevent an infection. It is advisable to avoid antibiotic medications as much as possible to prevent prevent antibiotic resistance. Get more details about antibiotic resistance and the harm it poses to our society from the website www.firsteatright.com. ​

There is no way to avoid a bug getting into your ear but there are a few preventive steps to reduce your risk. You can keep your homes clean and neat to avoid insects inside, use an insect repellant when you go out and wear earplugs/cotton when camping out under the trees or the open sky. Good night sleep tight and don’t let the bugs get inside!

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