Taiwanese Woman Finds Small Spider Living in Her Ear Canal

Spider molted in woman's ear, producing incessant noise leading to insomnia; successfully suctioned out by medical professionals without causing any harm.

A 64-year-old woman in Taiwan discovered a small spider living in her ear canal after experiencing 'incessant clicking and rustling sounds' for four days, causing her sleeplessness.
Her case, detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that the spider had molted its exoskeleton in her ear canal, causing the disturbing sounds.
Medical professionals at Tainan Municipal Hospital successfully suctioned out both the spider and its exoskeleton without causing damage or discomfort to the woman. This was attributed to the small spider's size, which was estimated to be about 2 to 3 millimeters.
Dr. Tengchin Wang, the case study’s co-author and director of otolaryngology at Tainan Municipal Hospital, stated this was the first time he had encountered a bug that had shed its skin inside the human ear canal.
While it seems like a unique incident, it is noted that finding insects in people's ears is not uncommon for ear, nose, and throat specialists. Prior cases have included ants, moths, cockroaches and mosquitoes.