# Hearing Problems

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 29, 2004, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554 "2004-01-29T08:57:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BlackGriffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@BlackGriffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackGriffin)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554/1 "2004-01-29T08:57:20Z")

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This is a true story, which I heard from my sister. It happened to a teacher at Swan View Senior High School, last year. The teacher in question is italian and bears a striking resemblance to Nintendo’s “Mario”.

One day, a teacher at my school, Mr. Iemmolo, experienced deafness and a slight pain in one ear. After a few days, he went to the doctor, who, looked at the ear and removed a pen lid. 😃  
Verdict: He, for no apparent reason, had put a pen in his ear with the lid on.  
He then pulled the pen out, leaving the lid in his ear.  
During the few days he experienced deafness, he must have never touched the ear.  
And the shocking piece of news…  
He lives with his wife and two kids.

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**Author:** ![BlackGriffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@BlackGriffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackGriffin)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554/2 "2004-01-29T08:59:11Z")

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Whoops. It wasn’t last year, it was at least 2 years back.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554/3 "2004-01-29T17:31:06Z")

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I have just one word:

**CITE?**

This sounds like another urban myth. Most pen caps I’ve seen are close to two inches long. Most ears aren’t that deep, so a pen cap sticking out should be rather apparent.

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**Author:** ![BlackGriffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@BlackGriffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackGriffin)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-problems/226554/4 "2004-01-30T01:26:14Z")

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It’s true!  
I attend Swan View!  
I’ve seen the teacher, and his hair is kinda long and curly.  
My sis told me about it. And she’s no liar.