Foreign Body - Earring

A 19-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with concern for a foreign body in her left ear. She reports that she was lying in bed while touching her earring when a piece of the earring fell into her ear. She does not have any change in hearing, and she does not report any pain. She did not try to remove the earring herself other than tilting her head to the left side “abruptly.” This image is obtained. The patient has a decorative piece from an earring in her left ear canal. Foreign objects in the ear are commonly seen in the emergency department and the pediatric clinic. The WisprDigital Otoscope makes visualization and confirmation of the foreign body straightforward. The tricky part is removal of the foreign body. This case illustrates the challenge. The earring piece is deep in the canal, and awkwardly shaped. Possible removal strategies include irrigation, suction, forceps, or a curette. In this case, a stainless steel speculum was used to straighten the ear canal and allow for the removal of the earring piece with a curette. Here is a photo of the removed object. Here is the complete video of the exam: