Man in China sprays insecticide into his ear to remove trapped cockroach

How far would you go to remove a cockroach that has crept into your ear?

A man from Chengdu, China, sprayed insecticide to drive out the unwelcome guest.

On Feb 1, the 60-year-old was woken from his sleep by a sharp pain in his ear, Chengdu Economic Daily reported.

He tried to scoop out the invader with his fingertips but made the problem worse as the cockroach retreated deeper into his ear.

For over three days, the man failed to remove the insect with toothpicks and tweezers.

Frustrated by the discomfort, he resorted to spraying insecticide into his ear.

Although he succeeded in killing the pesky insect, its carcass was trapped inside his ear canal, and the combination of insecticide and cockroach remains caused his ear to become swollen and irritated.

On Feb 3, doctors at a hospital extracted the insect which measured about one cm, according to South China Morning Post.

If you face a similar ear emergency, Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) doctors recommend these tips:

- Try not to put your finger into the ear as it may trigger the insect to sting

- Pour a few drops of oil into the ear to reduce the damage the insect may wreck in the canal

- Tilt your head with the affected ear facing up to encourage the insect to crawl out

However, it's best to seek medical attention as doctors can safely extract foreign objects from the ears using specialised tools.

Even if an insect has come out of your ear, it may have irritated the sensitive skin inside the ear canal.

Guess we'd be sleeping with earplugs tonight.

Also read: Doctors remove live cockroach from woman's skull in India

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minlee@sph.com.sg