Insect entrapment in the ear is one of the problems that are small but extremely dangerous. If one doesn’t know how to handle this, it will cause minor injuries and complications for your hearing.
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Minh from the Department of Otolaryngology of Thanh Do International Hospital said: “Insects entrapment in the ears often occur when you are sleeping. The case is mainly in the countryside or wherever there are many insects such as gardens, fields, places that are poorly hygienic or have many objects lying around…”
When the insect enters the victim’s ear, there is a sharp pain in the ear that is caused by insect bites or by the spikes of insects. Many people suffer from water or blood leakage when the insect enters. Pain levels depend on the type of insect, in some cases fainting can occur.
When insects get in the ear, most people don’t know how to handle them, such as using cotton swabs or picks that only get a portion of the insect, sometimes even causing more pain or getting the insect deeper in.
Here are some health tips that will help you handle these inconceivable cases so that your ears won’t be harmed.
1. Use olive oil
When insects get stuck in your ears, tilt your head to the insect-free side and then drop the olive oil or baby oil in your ear. This is one of the health tips that help kill insects and they will gradually get out of your ears themselves. When it comes out, you should tilt your head to the side with the insect to let the oil run out.
Note that the oil should be used warm. Especially, oil should not be used for people with eardrum problems. Avoid oil when you have earache, bleeding or water inside your ear.
2. Alcohol
Alcohol is also a health tip to handle insects getting into the ear. You simply dip a cotton pad into the alcohol and place it on the surface outside the ear so that a few drops of alcohol automatically flow into the ear. The insects should fly out. In addition, alcohol also cleans the ear area for you.
3. Do not use cotton swabs
When insects enter your ear, using a cotton swab or any sharp device is absolutely forbidden. These items don’t only push insects deeper into the ear but also damage the eardrum and inner ear causing severe damage to your hearing.
4. Do not place your fingers inside your ears
When you are unlucky enough to get the insect into your ear, putting your finger in your ear will hurt you as well as help the insect penetrate deeper into the ear. This doesn’t only makes it difficult to get the insects out of your ears, but also causes injury or complications to the ears in the future.
5. Consult a doctor
If you have tried everything and still are unable to take it out, it’s best you go see a doctor immediately. Any mistakes made during your attempts might leave irreversible consequences to your hearing, even deafness.