If a fly gets into your ear, is it a serious problem?

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chevalier

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Sorry, but yeah, this is a serious question no matter how silly it makes me look (which I’m sure must be pretty funny, it kinda is even to me).I can’t be 100% sure, but I think the thing did get inside my ear. Probably just some big fly, nothing that really bites. I don’t feel any movement inside, but I think I wasn’t fast enough to prevent it from entering, so perhaps it’s stuck there or already dead. Do I need to care or can I just move on? I suppose this must have happened a thousand times in my sleep before, so I’m inclined to just wave it off, but this is the first time I remember in a long time that a bug actually crept in rather than being chased away.
 
Yea, you need to get it removed. Smother the bug with baby oil or rubbing alcohol and pull it out with tweezers. Don’t leave it alone and let it get infected and damage your hearing. If you can’t get it out you need to go to a doctor with the proper equipment to remove it. I had a cockroach crawl in my ear once and I wanted to claw my ear off to get it out. I couldn’t stand just leaving it alone!!
 
Foreign matter in the ear can cause an infection, especially organic matter like a bug or a piece of food. You can afford to be a little patient, but it does need to come out eventually.

I’m assuming you’ve hung your head with that ear down and then shaken your head a few times. OK, that didn’t work…did enough come clear of the ear canal that you can grab a bit and pull it out with a tweezers? (I mean can you feel it sticking out clear of the ear canal. Do NOT go digging around in there!)

The vegetable or baby oil thing is for a bug you believe may still be alive. The object is to suffocate it. Once it is curled up and dead, sometimes it shakes out easier, and in any event it quits buzzing and making you imagine you’re experiencing the Wrath of Kahn.

If the bug is dead, you don’t need oil. You can sometimes irrigate it out with a stream of water or soapy water. You can use a bulb syringe; they have these ear-cleaning kits that have them at drug stores. This is all within what a pediatrician would tell you if your child had an insect in the ear.

What you should not do is to put any object into the ear canal itself for any reason, including trying to retrieve something that should not be there. It isn’t just that the object you are using can harm the ear; you can also shove the foreign object in farther and it can damage your ear that way.

This is definitely in the realm of “First, Do No Harm.” As the saying goes, “You should not put anything into your ear canal that is smaller than your elbow.” That is territory for someone with a medical background. Imagine a scratch in the ear canal that gets infected and all itchy and nasty, and you’ll see what I mean.
 
Thanks. I don’t feel any movement there or any sort of pressure. My ear did feel clogged for a second like the thing was squeezing its way through, so I’m not sure it didn’t actually get in, but I can’t feel it. Wiggling, shaking, twisting etc. doesn’t make anything fall out (other than my brain leaking in general as a result of middle age kicking in and all) or produce any special feeling over a cold that I’d already had. I haven’t played with water yet, though.

Can a doctor verify that something really is in first before trying to pull it out?
 
chevalier said:
Thanks. I don’t feel any movement there or any sort of pressure. My ear did feel clogged for a second like the thing was squeezing its way through, so I’m not sure it didn’t actually get in, but I can’t feel it. Wiggling, shaking, twisting etc. doesn’t make anything fall out (other than my brain leaking in general as a result of middle age kicking in and all) or produce any special feeling over a cold that I’d already had. I haven’t played with water yet, though.

Can a doctor verify that something really is in first before trying to pull it out?
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Yeah, good idea.

You definitely don’t want a critter sharing your own head with you; and trying to get rid of it yourself is problematic. Get someone qualified to tend to it.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA
 
chevalier said:
Thanks. I don’t feel any movement there or any sort of pressure. My ear did feel clogged for a second like the thing was squeezing its way through, so I’m not sure it didn’t actually get in, but I can’t feel it. Wiggling, shaking, twisting etc. doesn’t make anything fall out (other than my brain leaking in general as a result of middle age kicking in and all) or produce any special feeling over a cold that I’d already had. I haven’t played with water yet, though.

Can a doctor verify that something really is in first before trying to pull it out?
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Doctors routinely check ears with a probe thing and a little light on the end. They can see if anything is in there and maybe have the nurse do an earwash to clean you up. I wouldn’t mess with your hearing; that is the only set of ears you are going to get. It would be worth the few dollars and time to check it out.
 
Yeah, I suggest you go to a doctor. He’ll be able to determine if there is anything in there, and if there is, he’ll have the proper tools and expertise to safely remove it without causing any damage to your ear.
 
chevalier said:
Thanks. I don’t feel any movement there or any sort of pressure. My ear did feel clogged for a second like the thing was squeezing its way through, so I’m not sure it didn’t actually get in, but I can’t feel it. Wiggling, shaking, twisting etc. doesn’t make anything fall out (other than my brain leaking in general as a result of middle age kicking in and all) or produce any special feeling over a cold that I’d already had. I haven’t played with water yet, though.

Can a doctor verify that something really is in first before trying to pull it out?
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Yes, they can see quite far back into your ear. I had something fall into my ear accidentally, that I was using on the outer rim of my ear. I was applying some skin cream to the outside. Oops! :o

My husband tried baby oil, and whatever home remedy we could try, but it didn’t work, so off to the doctor I went. He had to take a lighted probe and carefully pull it out.
 
Please see a doctor/medial professional for medical problems. We aren’t allowed to give medical advice on the forums.
 
chevalier said:
Sorry, but yeah, this is a serious question no matter how silly it makes me look (which I’m sure must be pretty funny, it kinda is even to me).I can’t be 100% sure, but I think the thing did get inside my ear. Probably just some big fly, nothing that really bites. I don’t feel any movement inside, but I think I wasn’t fast enough to prevent it from entering, so perhaps it’s stuck there or already dead. Do I need to care or can I just move on? I suppose this must have happened a thousand times in my sleep before, so I’m inclined to just wave it off, but this is the first time I remember in a long time that a bug actually crept in rather than being chased away.
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I think you should get a Dr or nurse to check…you dont want a dead fly rotting in your ear or a live one causing any problems with your eardrum:eek:
 
Buy some mineral oil from the drug store,
it is really cheap and use the dropper to
put it into the ear canal, flush w/ water
afterwards.
 
To tie this to our faith, it was devout Catholic Ricardo Montalban, who showed us the dangers of bugs in the ears, in the beginning of the Wrath of Khan. Tread lightly, my friend.
 
Maximilan_Kolbe said:
To tie this to our faith, it was devout Catholic Ricardo Montalban, who showed us the dangers of bugs in the ears, in the beginning of the Wrath of Khan. Tread lightly, my friend.
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That movie and specifically that scene freaked me out so much that I have never seen another Star Trek since. Nor can I eat a cressant because it looks like the big one.

That being said this thread is dangerously close to medical advice. So “call your health care professional” should be the best advice rather than sticking or pouring stuff in your ears.
 
SuperLuigi said:
Please see a doctor/medial professional for medical problems. We aren’t allowed to give medical advice on the forums.
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Who is giving medical advice, other than don’t put any foreign objects into your ear and don’t try to get anything out yourself with anything but a liquid?

That isn’t medical advice. That’s hygiene advice.
 
EasterJoy said:
Who is giving medical advice, other than don’t put any foreign objects into your ear and don’t try to get anything out yourself with anything but a liquid?

That isn’t medical advice. That’s hygiene advice.
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Post 2. Plus a suggestion of tweezers.
 
Alcohol will kill it if it is alive. Don’t put any liquid in your ear if the eardrum is ruptured unless the doctor says to. If I had a live bug in my ear I would hit it with alcohol.
 
I know I told my doctor once about using one of my wifes hair pins to clear wax from my ears…he said does your little pinky fit into your ear…I said no…he said exactly…your body is designed so that no other body part will fit in your ear because it isn’t supposed to…so why would you want to go against nature and insert a foreign object that doesn’t belong there…good advice…but I still do it at times because it feels good…best advice is to try to flush your ear…if that doesn’t work seek medical help…
 
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