A foreign object in the ear can cause pain, infection and hearing loss. Most often, you know if something is stuck in your ear. But small children may not be aware of it. Children may have ear pain and be cranky or cry.
The most common things they put in their ears include:
- Pearls
- Food (especially seeds)
- Paper
- cotton
- Rubber erasers
- Marbles
- Small seashells
Treatment of an object in the ear usually involves removing the object. The ease or difficulty of this process depends on where the object is in the body. If the item cannot be removed at home and medical attention is required, treatment may include the following:
- A suction machine can remove the object from the nose or the ear.
- Retractors can also remove an object.
- Magnets can sometimes remove metal objects.
- Sometimes surgery is necessary if other removal methods do not work. Further
- processing may involve dealing with any damage caused by the object.