I dunno if it happens often, but I definately had a fly caught in my middle ear before. No idea how it got there. All of a sudden I got the most intense buzzing sound in my ear. Even worse than that was that I could feel it’s little wings flapping in my ear. It was the single most disgusting feeling I’ve ever felt, far worse than a wet willie.
And yes, I had a doctor take it out the next day. It had to be about the worst 3 hours of my life, that buzzing.
A link to the column is appeciated. Why do we have wax in our ears? Do roaches ever crawl in there?
[sub]bibliophage sneaks up silently behind krong, leans in to his ear and goes[/sub]
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
Sorry, dude, but that’s what you get for not linking to the column.
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
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Cecil’s column can be found on-line at the link provided by bibliophage.
The column can also be found on pages 111-113 of Cecil Adams? book «Triumph of the Straight Dope».
moderator, «Comments on Cecil’s Columns»
Are you sure it was the middle ear? That would put it between the ear drum and the cochlea, along with the three tiny bones: malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). To get to your inner ear, your fly buddy either crawled up your Eustachian tube or else he burrowed through your eardrum.
He was probably caught in your auditory canal, perhaps making a snack of your ear wax.
(Thanks to http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Ear2.html for refreshing my 30-year-old Jr. High biology.)