Compiled By Scrubadoo’s Jen Hankin
This month’s Your Stories is a bit different, as it did not from an ER professional. But Mark Glowacz, owner of www.tydanit.com, had a weird experience a few weeks ago that took his admitting ER nurse at Seton Southwest Hospital in Austin, TX by surprise…
Around 3:45 AM, I woke up with a scratching and waterfall noise in my left ear. We had been swimming the day before so I thought I was getting a severe swimmers ear because I also felt some pressure. I tried to ignore it as best I could and fall back asleep but after 10 minutes, the noises and occasional sharp pains became too much. I didn’t think I would make it until morning to visit an urgent care center so I decided to visit the ER.
I entered the empty ER waiting room and an admitting nurse started taking my information. I explained what was going on while filling out the paperwork. As I started to fill out the last line of the form, I felt like something popped in my ear and fluid was about to discharge. The nurse looked at me, I titled my head to make it easier for the fluid to move but instead, an earwig crawled out of my ear, bounced off my shirt and hit the floor.
Earwig pincers are commonly believed to be dangerous, but in reality even the curved pincers of males cause little harm to humans. Finding earwigs in the human ear is rare, as most species do not fly and prefer dark and damp areas (such as basements) rather than typical bedrooms.
The nurse and I looked at each other for a moment and then stared at the earwig.
“I thought earwigs in your head was a myth?” I said.
The nurse apologized for starting to laugh nervously but I didn’t blame her. The look on her face was priceless. I was simply relieved to have the noise and pain out of my ear. I asked if I could go and the nurse sort of blinked and said, “I need to go tell them about this!”
I just got up and left. I hope the nurse wasn’t expecting me to be there when she got back.
Whatever you read on the Internet about earwigs crawling into a person’s ear – it is true. It didn’t eat my brain so that can remain a myth.
