New fear unlocked – One camper woke up to WHAT in her ear
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It’s safe to say that this story is not for the faint of heart, folks.
One woman was holidaying with her husband when she woke up to a horrifying surprise – a large cockroach burrowing into her ear.
It’s a nightmare we all hope we’ll never have to face but for some people, this horror story is all too real. Avid caravanner Kirsty Barge was ready to celebrate the new year with her husband in Western Australia when she got a ‘disgusting’ wake-up call.
She told reporters that she woke up to go to the toilet at 3 am and went back to bed when she suddenly felt something crawl inside her ear.
‘It felt like a moth or something had flown into my ear, so that's when I sat up and started shaking my head,’ she said.
Whatever was in her ear at the time, however, refused to come out.
This was the moment she ‘freaked out’ and woke up her husband for help. Kirsty admitted that she was trying to calm herself down even though she was having a ‘full meltdown’.
Kirsty tried flooding her ear with water over the sink, but that only forced the intruder further in.
Then, her husband took a pair of tweezers to pull out the creature and was careful not to damage her eardrum.
‘My husband pulled a little bit and said, “Oh, that’s a leg”, and dropped it in the sink,’ she explained.
She told her husband to refrain from telling her anything else while he was dragging out the insect. ‘I’m like, “I don’t want to know”,’ she shared. Honestly, we feel you, Kirsty.
‘It hurt, it was horrible, honestly, it was horrendous. It was so disgusting.’
Kirsty said the cockroach was more than three centimetres long.
‘I counted its legs and antennae to make sure I didn't have any surprises in my ear later and then started dry retching again and threw it down the sink,’ she stated.
Kirsty took to social media to share her horrific creepy-crawly story, and to teach people what to do in case they encounter the same thing. One thing she noted was that tweezers were not the safest option in this situation, because there’s a chance the tool might damage your eardrums.
Ear, nose and throat specialist Adam Blond said that insects entering ears happens frequently – and we don’t know how to feel about this information.
‘Small cockroaches are really common, occasionally spiders, but more likely mozzies and moths get caught in there,’ the doctor shared.
He added that he treats at least one case every few weeks, with the rates of cases increasing as the warm season rolls in and people go camping with lights.
Dr Blond also explained that putting water in your ear to try and get the insect out might do more harm than good. He said that most insects will dig the barbs on their feet and legs into your flesh and ‘push’ themselves further inside into the eardrum, which is the ‘most sensitive part’ of the ear.
He suggested turning the lights off and shining a torch to the outside of the affected ear to try and coax the creature out. If that fails, smother the insect by putting drops of room temperature baby oil or olive oil to stop them from moving inside your ear and go to the doctor for help.
‘Oil suffocates them and stops them from moving around and they're essentially dead.’
Dr Blond reminded everyone that if insects remain stuck in your ear, it could cause serious infections.
Do you have similar experiences you want to share, members? Share your stories in the comments below!
One woman was holidaying with her husband when she woke up to a horrifying surprise – a large cockroach burrowing into her ear.
It’s a nightmare we all hope we’ll never have to face but for some people, this horror story is all too real. Avid caravanner Kirsty Barge was ready to celebrate the new year with her husband in Western Australia when she got a ‘disgusting’ wake-up call.
She told reporters that she woke up to go to the toilet at 3 am and went back to bed when she suddenly felt something crawl inside her ear.
‘It felt like a moth or something had flown into my ear, so that's when I sat up and started shaking my head,’ she said.
Whatever was in her ear at the time, however, refused to come out.
Kirsty often travels with her family in their caravan. Credit: kirstymareeig/Instagram
This was the moment she ‘freaked out’ and woke up her husband for help. Kirsty admitted that she was trying to calm herself down even though she was having a ‘full meltdown’.
Kirsty tried flooding her ear with water over the sink, but that only forced the intruder further in.
Then, her husband took a pair of tweezers to pull out the creature and was careful not to damage her eardrum.
‘My husband pulled a little bit and said, “Oh, that’s a leg”, and dropped it in the sink,’ she explained.
She told her husband to refrain from telling her anything else while he was dragging out the insect. ‘I’m like, “I don’t want to know”,’ she shared. Honestly, we feel you, Kirsty.
‘It hurt, it was horrible, honestly, it was horrendous. It was so disgusting.’
What would you do in this situation? Credit: Najman Husaini/Pexels
Kirsty said the cockroach was more than three centimetres long.
‘I counted its legs and antennae to make sure I didn't have any surprises in my ear later and then started dry retching again and threw it down the sink,’ she stated.
Kirsty took to social media to share her horrific creepy-crawly story, and to teach people what to do in case they encounter the same thing. One thing she noted was that tweezers were not the safest option in this situation, because there’s a chance the tool might damage your eardrums.
Ear, nose and throat specialist Adam Blond said that insects entering ears happens frequently – and we don’t know how to feel about this information.
‘Small cockroaches are really common, occasionally spiders, but more likely mozzies and moths get caught in there,’ the doctor shared.
He added that he treats at least one case every few weeks, with the rates of cases increasing as the warm season rolls in and people go camping with lights.
Dr Blond also explained that putting water in your ear to try and get the insect out might do more harm than good. He said that most insects will dig the barbs on their feet and legs into your flesh and ‘push’ themselves further inside into the eardrum, which is the ‘most sensitive part’ of the ear.
He suggested turning the lights off and shining a torch to the outside of the affected ear to try and coax the creature out. If that fails, smother the insect by putting drops of room temperature baby oil or olive oil to stop them from moving inside your ear and go to the doctor for help.
‘Oil suffocates them and stops them from moving around and they're essentially dead.’
Dr Blond reminded everyone that if insects remain stuck in your ear, it could cause serious infections.
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