Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin. So I was strolling through Reddit the other
day and ended up finding this story about someone who had a rock stuck in their ear
for over a decade! They put a rock in their ear when they were
9 years old and didn’t get rid of it until they pulled it out themselves at the age of
22… 13 years later! According to them, the lasting effects of
the ordeal are that they can’t really swim underwater, have more frequent headaches,
and have balance issues. It's pretty wild, right? As soon as I saw this, I needed to explain
the science behind it. So, what happens if a rock gets stuck in your
ear? Well first off, if I were you, I’d be happy
that what was stuck in my ear wasn’t something more… creepy and crawly. That’s because it’s not just rocks and
similar objects that get stuck in people’s ears — insects like cockroaches and moths
have found temporary homes in people’s hearing bits. Sorry for saying hearing bits. Having something like a rock or a piece of
candy stuck in your ear is actually pretty common when dealing with babies and young
children — you know, cause their natural scientists, testing theories by putting things
everywhere and touching everything.—, but insects can make their way into anyone’s
ear as long as they have a path in. Alright, bring out the flamethrower! Thank you! I'm not dealing with this image anymore. No matter what you have stuck in your ear,
it’s important that you try and get it out as quickly as possible, while making sure
to not make matters worse. We’ll get more into that in a second. Not only can having something stuck in your
ear be painful in the short term, but it can also be pretty dangerous. If the situation persists, it can potentially
cause hearing loss, bleeding, infection, and even damage to your eardrum. Your ear canal is very sensitive and you can
easily make matters worse if you end up pushing the object in deeper, so please don't go rooting
around trying to get the foreign object out with a cotton swab or some sort of sharp object Instead, Mayo Clinic advises that you follow
safer steps to try and solve the problem. First off, try moving your head around and
seeing if gravity can solve the problem for you. If that doesn’t work, and you can easily
see the object and think that you can remove it easily, you can VERY CAREFULLY try to get
it out with some tweezers. You can also try washing it out with a little
warm water. If you’re dealing with an insect, a tiny
bit of warm, not hot, oil can do the trick. Refrain from these methods if you have ear
tubes or if your eardrum is perforated. If these methods don’t work or you can’t
get all of it out, you should see a doctor immediately, especially if you’re having
pain or other discomforts. According to some case studies that came out
around 10 years ago, while the majority of ear blockages can be safely removed without
the help of a specialist, complex cases require the work of an ear nose and throat doctor,
Otherwise known as an otolaryngologist, if you wanna sound fancy. This is because tough cases can be associated
with significant rates of morbidity, rarely including tympanic membrane and ossicular
damage, hearing loss, vertigo, and even facial nerve damage. The factors that lead to these complex cases? Spherical objects, foreign bodies that touch
the tympanic membrane, and things that have been stuck in your ear for more than 24 hours. So naturally, if you had a rock there for
13 years, you’re really just increasing your risk all around. I'm sorry that this happened to you AurumJo. I'll link to your post so you can see your
story. It's really super interesting. Let me know in the comment section below if
there are any other cases you'd like me to explore. Curious to know what it's like to be deaf? Deafness is not a one size fits all. Some people might be able to hear pitched
tones, while others might be able to hear deeper tones. Some may not be able to hear anything at all. As always, my name is Blocko, this has been
life noggin, please don't put rocks in your ear, and keep on thinking!
