It sounds like a plot twist from a horror movie, but these are real-life accounts of 10 people who discovered unwelcome, living roommates in their ear canals. In many cases the invaders arrived while the victims were fast asleep, sparking intense itching, throbbing pain, and a frantic search for relief. Medical professionals are usually called in to extract the critters, and the stories that follow are as astonishing as they are unsettling.
Why 10 People Who End Up With Unwanted Ear Tenants Should Make You Think Twice About Sleeping Without Earplugs
10 Hendrik Helmer
In the middle of a 2014 night in Darwin, Australia, Hendrik Helmer was jolted awake by a sharp pain in his right ear. He quickly realized that something had crawled inside, and his imagination jumped to the worst‑case scenario: a poisonous spider. His first attempt at removal involved a household vacuum cleaner, which proved ineffective. A subsequent effort to rinse the ear with water only agitated the intruder, intensifying the ache.
Helmer’s roommate rushed him to Royal Darwin Hospital, where a doctor finally subdued the 2‑centimetre (0.8 in) cockroach with a dab of oil, then plucked it out with a pair of forceps. In the days that followed, Helmer struggled with balance issues and reported “twinges of pain” whenever he opened his jaw, a lingering reminder of the ordeal.
9 Radhika Mandloi
Four‑year‑old Radhika Mandloi was writhing in pain in 2016 when she complained of a relentless itch inside her ear. Doctors at the hospital discovered a shocking infestation: 80 maggots were clinging to the inner walls of her ear canal. Dr. Raj Kumar Mundra performed two 90‑minute surgeries to extract every larva.
Dr. Mundra warned that, had treatment been delayed, the maggots could have begun to consume living tissue and potentially reached the brain. He traced the cause to unsanitary conditions; a fly, attracted by foul odors, had deposited the larvae, turning a simple itch into a life‑threatening emergency.
8 Catherine McCann
In 2012, 92‑year‑old Catherine McCann, a resident of the Lutheran Home for the Aged in Arlington Heights, Illinois, woke to a shocking sight: maggots wriggling inside her ear. Doctors at Northwest Community Hospital filmed the extraction of 57 maggots, noting that the larvae had likely been present for up to three days.
McCann’s ear canal had been surgically enlarged years earlier, and she was on a regimen of ear flushes, drops, and antibiotics. While the nursing home claimed the treatments were administered correctly, her husband sued the facility for emotional distress and negligence, alleging that the infestation stemmed from inadequate fly control during outdoor walks.
7 Rochelle Harris
While traveling in Peru in 2013, Rochelle Harris thought she had simply dislodged a fly from her ear. Months later, she began suffering from severe headaches, facial pain, and woke up one morning to find liquid on her pillow. A consultant at Royal Derby Hospital in England discovered a tiny opening in her ear canal harboring eight maggot larvae from a New World screwworm fly.
Fearing the larvae might invade her brain, Harris tried flushing the ear with olive oil, but the maggots clung stubbornly. She eventually underwent surgery, during which she could both feel and hear the larvae as they scratched and writhed inside her ear.
6 Anonymous Woman
A 48‑year‑old woman from Taiwan visited a hospital after her hearing aid was removed and a gush of “bloody fluid” was observed in her ear. Physicians soon identified a fruit‑fly larva as the culprit, which they carefully extracted from her canal.
The infestation had eroded skin near her eardrum, but after a course of topical antibiotics, the ear healed completely within two weeks, leaving her with a vivid reminder of the tiny invader.
5 Shreya Darji
In Deesa, Gujarat, India, 12‑year‑old Shreya Darji found herself sharing her ear with a colony of ants. On an average day, ten to fifteen ants would crawl out of her ear, prompting doctors to repeatedly extract the pests.
Attempts to flush the ear with antiseptic proved futile, and even laparoscopic cameras failed to locate a queen ant. Medical staff continue to monitor Darji, hoping to solve the mystery of how an entire ant colony managed to establish a foothold inside her ear.
4 Michael Gorman
During a friend’s birthday celebration in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 2014, Michael “Mickey” Gorman found two unexpected guests in his ear: a tick and a moth. A woman wielding tweezers managed to pull the tick out swiftly, but the moth required a painstaking two‑minute effort, captured on video by Jacob Stanfield and later posted online.
After the extraction, Stanfield released the moth outdoors. The moth had entered Gorman’s ear when he attempted to swat it away from the side of his head, illustrating how even a simple hand‑gesture can invite an unwanted ear resident.
3 Grant Botti
Fourteen‑year‑old Grant Botti of Arkansas felt a sharp pain in his ear in 2015, leading him to discover a ten‑centimetre (4 in) centipede lurking inside. He managed to extract the creature himself before seeking medical attention.
Local doctors treated him for abrasions caused by the centipede’s claws and noted they had never encountered a case quite like his before, underscoring the rarity of such ear‑dwelling arthropods.
2 Anonymous Man
In 2014, an Indian man experienced an irritating itch and pain in his ear, prompting a visit to the South Zone ENT Research Centre in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. Doctors discovered a five‑centimetre (2 in) cricket that had taken refuge inside his ear canal.
Using tweezers, physicians finally removed the cricket after it made a valiant attempt to crawl deeper into the canal. Although the insect could not sting, its presence threatened the patient’s balance and hearing, at least temporarily.
1 Spider
Victoria Price of Porthcawl, Wales, suffered an earache after her daily swim in 2016. Assuming water or a perforated eardrum was to blame, she was surprised when her husband, after a quick inspection, claimed there was something alive inside.
At the hospital, triage nurse Sarah Gaze used forceps to extract a large, wriggly spider from Price’s ear. Despite the unsettling experience, Price insisted she was not afraid of spiders, demonstrating remarkable composure.
Gary Pullman, a novelist living south of the infamous Area 51, later referenced the incident in his 2016 urban‑fantasy novel “A Whole World Full of Hurt,” highlighting how such bizarre medical cases can inspire creative storytelling.