Foreign body in the ear

What is it about ?

A foreign object in the ear canal is an object that must not be there. This is a problem that happens mostly in children. These are often grains, peas, seeds, etc. If this happens to an adult, it is usually an insect or a piece of cotton swab.

How to recognize it?

Often you won’t see that a foreign object has slipped into the ear canal, but it can be quite annoying. The person hears less well because of the (partial) closure of the ear canal, he may feel pain in the ear or have local inflammation with discharge of a watery or purulent liquid. Sometimes the ear canal is damaged and blood drains from the ear.

How is the diagnosis made?

The doctor looks into the ear canal in both ears using an otoscope (a medical device for looking at the ear canal) to find out what object it is and where it is.

What can you do ?

There are a number of things you can possibly try to do at home. You can try to remove an insect by gently pouring lukewarm water into the ear canal. To stop the unpleasant feeling of having an insect living in the ear canal, you can kill it by running oil or water as first aid. Don’t do this if you have a hole in your eardrum or have drains. Do not use pliers either. You could push the object deeper into the ear canal.

What can your doctor do?

Always remove a foreign object in the ear. The doctor can remove very small objects with a small forceps, a thin rod or by suction. For larger objects, you will need a special ear probe.

A foreign body near the eardrum is removed by flushing the ear canal with water at body temperature, if the eardrum is intact. If this does not work or if the procedure is too painful, the doctor will refer you to the otolaryngologist (ENT). He will remove the foreign body from the ear canal with special instruments and possibly under local or general anesthesia (for children, sometimes).

After removal, the skin of the ear canal is often irritated or injured. Usually the irritation or injury heals on its own. Ear drops with cortisone and an antibiotic are indicated in case of infection. After 1 week, the skin should be checked to see if it has healed properly. In the meantime, make sure that there is no water in the ear canal.

Want to know more?

• Ear (image) – Larousse
• Foreign body in a child’s ear – to be born and to grow

• Local anesthesia explained to children and in pictures – Plaster
• My child is going to be operated on under general anesthesia – Plaster

Source

Foreign clinical practice guide ‘Foreign body in the external auditory canal’ (2000), updated on 08/31/2016 and adapted to the Belgian context on 01/28/2020 – ebpracticenet