How Often Do Bugs Crawl Into Sleeping People’s Ears?
How Often Do Bugs Crawl Into Sleeping People’s Ears?
There are many horror stories circulating that tell of nasty insects or spiders that crawl into people’s ears as they sleep. More often than not, these stories lack evidence, and are dismissed as old wives tales. However, it is quite likely that any emergency room doctor would disagree with this opinion. In reality, bugs crawl into peoples orifices often. The most common destination for certain creepy-crawlies looking to invade a person’s body are the ears. One woman who recently had an enormous roach pulled from her inner ear said that an ENT at her hospital mentioned several other similar cases of ear-residing insects. In fact, this ENT claimed that insects need to be professionally removed from patients ears at least once every month. On the day when the woman visited the ER for her insect troubles, she was told that she had been the second of such cases that day. So don’t ever lie to your kids when they ask you if bugs crawl into ears during sleep.
Despite conventional wisdom, it is by no means uncommon to have your ears invaded by bugs. According to Benjamin McGrew, M.D., an associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham department of otolaryngology, people with bugs stuck in their ears enter our clinic at least for to five times per year. McGrew goes onto claim that most offending bugs are cockroaches. Cockroaches will often become stuck deep within a person’s inner ear. The roaches are then unable to vacate the ear on their own, so medical intervention usually becomes necessary in these cases. The doctor states that a mere roach in a person’s ear is not even the most disturbing insect-related medical situation that he has encountered. At one point, the doctor examined a patients ears and found a spider web deep in a man’s ear canal. A number of different types of flying insects have been found trapped within human ear canals, such as moths. However, cockroaches can be dangerous if one gets stuck within your ear canal. The danger in these situations results from trapped cockroaches frantically scratching a person’s eardrum in an effort to shake itself free.
If you were ever to suspect that a bug entered your ear, would you attempt to remove it yourself before seeking medical attention?