Spider Found In Woman's Ear After She Complains Of Abnormal Noises
A spider was seen moving within the auditory canal of a woman with a 4-day history of abnormal sounds in her ear.
A 64-year-old woman from Taiwan, who experienced discomfort due to unusual sounds in her left ear, received a startling revelation during her visit to a clinic. The woman had endured four sleepless nights plagued by a persistent cacophony of thumping, clicking, and rustling within her ear, accompanied by a disconcerting sensation of movement. Seeking relief from these distressing symptoms, she sought the expertise of an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clinic. During her examination, healthcare professionals made a surprising discovery: a spider had reportedly made its way into her ear canal, complete with its discarded exoskeleton.
Employing a specialised tube, the doctors efficiently removed the arachnid and its exoskeleton, promptly alleviating the woman’s discomfort. Reportedly, no harm was inflicted upon her eardrum throughout this peculiar ordeal.
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Subsequently, the medical team at Tainan Municipal Hospital in Taiwan documented the woman’s unique encounter in a case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They also supplemented their report with a video shared platform X (Formally Twitter), describing the symptoms and situation of the woman.
Watch it here:
A woman with hypertension presented to the clinic with a 4-day history of abnormal sounds in her ear. On examination, a small spider was seen moving within the external auditory canal of the left ear. The molted exoskeleton of the spider was also present. https://t.co/dye2sbbiL9 pic.twitter.com/SfeNBBGQS8— NEJM (@NEJM) October 25, 2023
Dr. Tengchin Wang, the co-author of the case report and director of the otolaryngology department at Tainan Municipal Hospital, emphasised that the woman did not experience pain due to the diminutive size of the intruding spider. Shedding light on this intriguing occurrence, Jerry Rovner, an emeritus biology professor at Ohio University, postulated that the spider likely sought refuge within the woman’s ear for the purpose of molting, a period during which they are vulnerable to predators and seek a secure location, reports NBC News.
While it sounds bizarre and extremely concerning to most, a spider invading human ears is not a new phenomenon. Several similar cases have been reported earlier.
Earlier this year, a colony of spiders was discovered in a woman’s ear after her ear was examined. She reportedly complained of pain and a constant buzzing sound. Initially, the doctors at the Huidong County People’s Hospital tried to check if the woman had tinnitus and performed an endoscopy.
However, they found a false eardrum that was actually a web created by the spider. The arachnid rushed out and tried to attack the endoscopic tube. Doctors were able to take out the spider safely. To everyone’s relief, the spider was not poisonous, and the woman had endured only minor damage to her ear canal. The incident took place in China’s Sichuan province on April 20.
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