Today a coworker told me of a story that has recently featured in the news, wherein a Chinese woman checked into Changsha Central Hospital after days of intense irritation and itching in her ear. Further investigation with a video scope revealed that a small jumping spider had taken up residence in the woman's external auditory canal, yielding some pretty neat pictures and endless nightmares for arachnophobes the world over:
This account sparked some mental catalysis, and I began to chatter internally. This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg; surely Deh interwebs must play host to a plethora of nauseating ear-canal discoveries! And boy do they ever.
I quickly stumbled upon the ENT USA site, which is both informative and chock-full of revolting photos depicting objects in the ear canal -- objects that, by all rights, should not be there. I've inserted a few, um... favorites (?!) below.
You've heard of the infamous deer tick, now witness the glory of the EAR tick!
It might not infect you with lyme disease, but it is extremely lethal to your sex life.
I'm voting to replace the old adage "packed like a can of sardines" with the endearing quip,
"all tucked-in like a warm bundle of ear maggots." Who's with me?
"This ear ache is killing me! What to do, what to do?... I know!--I'll grab one of my ciprofloxacin tablets, grind it up, and toss the powder in there. That outta make me right as rain!"
That's just a small sample of the fun in the ENT gallery, which includes among many other entries, photos of mastoid fistula, adenocystic carcinoma, and fungal infections of the ear. It's enough to make the most stoic Ferengi go wobbly in the knees with abject horror and despair. Enjoy now, thank me later.
