A doctor that was treating ear pain of an elderly patient in China found that there was a live spider weaving web inside the ear canal.
The patient, whose age and identity was not shared with the public, had been complaining of constant itching and a stinging pain to her family until she was brought to a local hospital for dialysis.
The woman was brought at the Mianyang Hospital of the Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Sichuan province of South-Western China.
At the hospital, her ear was scan, and footage showed something that shocked the doctors.
The doctors found a live spider crawling around and weaving a web inside the ear of the patient.
Doctors at the hospital speculate that the spider had been living inside the ear of the woman for at least one week.
Liu Jun, a nose, ear, and throat specialist, said that the patient visited the hospital on April 22, 2020, with her daughter.
The pensioner, who is from the Yanting County, complained of ringing in her ears and occasional itching, which was followed by stinging pain.
Doctor Liu spotted a ball of silk in the ear canal of the woman.
She was then recommended to go through an otoscopy, which revealed that a live spider had been living inside her ear.
Dr. Liu paralyzed the spider with the chemical ear drops and removed it with a pair of tweezers.
Luckily the ear of the elderly patient was not damaged by the spider.
Doctor Liu said:
It was fortunately that the spider was small and didn’t rupture her eardrum, otherwise she might have suffered hearing loss. It’s not common for small insects or animals to be found inside the ear, but this wasn’t an isolated case either. I once treated a patient whose ear had been invaded by an insect which later laid eggs. Personal hygiene is the key to preventing this. But should an insect enter your ear, do not try to remove it by yourself. Always seek medical attention.
The woman is fine and is taking medicine for her ear.