Page 70 - (DK) Home Doctor: Providing practical advice on home treatments

68 COMMON CONDITIONS: EYE AND EAR PROBLEMS

Foreign object in the ear

If something becomes lodged in your ear it can cause irritation, and can result in temporary hearing loss if
it blocks your ear canal. A sharp object can damage your eardrum. Young children sometimes push small items
such as beads or bits of paper into their ears. Unless you see them doing it, you may not be aware of a
problem until they complain of pain in the ear, have a discharge from it, or are unable to hear properly.
Adults sometimes get cotton stuck inside the ear canal while cleaning their ears (a practice that is
not recommended). Occasionally, insects get lodged in the ears; this can be alarming, especially for a child.
See also Earwax, p.63.

See your doctor
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE
Make an urgent appointment to see your
doctor if an object does not fall out of the ear Removing an insect from the
by itself or if you cannot remove an insect ear You may be able to remove an insect from the
using the measures below. ear by floating it out. If the insect is in your own ear,
get someone to help you. (Don’t use water to remove
anything other than an insect, because some objects
may swell up and become more difficult to remove.)
What you can do yourself
● Have some lukewarm water ready and a dropper.
There are limited steps that you can take to deal ● Ask the person to lie down with the affected ear
with an object or insect in the ear; if they don’t upward and to keep very still.
work, see your doctor. ● Trickle water into the ear using the dropper. This
should cause the insect to float out of the ear.
● Try tilting the ear downward and shaking it ● Tilt the head downward to let any remaining water
gently to see if the object or insect falls out. drain away.
● If the insect does not float out, don’t make further
● If there is an insect in the ear, try to stay calm.
attempts to remove it. Seek medical help.
Tilt the affected ear upward and wait to see if the
insect crawls out by itself. If it doesn’t, try floating
it out with water (see PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE, right). Floating out an insect
A child may be frightened at the
● Never try to remove something from the ear by
thought of having an insect in the ear,
probing with fingers, tweezers, or a cotton swab, so calm him or her down first. Ask the
even if you can see it. You are likely to push the child to lie very still while you drop
object further into the ear, and may damage the water into the ear.
lining of the ear and/or the eardrum.

Seek further medical advice

Arrange to see your doctor urgently if, after
removing an object:
● There is still a feeling of something in the ear
● Your hearing is impaired
● Your ear is painful or there is a discharge