Taiwan woman complaining of abnormal sounds shocked to discover spider in her ear

A 64-year-old woman in Taiwan sought medical help after experiencing “abnormal sounds” in her left ear, only to discover the source of her discomfort was a spider. The woman had endured four days of incessant beating, clicking, and rustling sounds in her ear, along with the sensation of something moving inside.

Following it, she visited an ear, nose and throat clinic, where doctors found a spider inside her ear canal, complete with its exoskeleton. Using a tube, they carefully suctioned out the spider and its exoskeleton, leading to the immediate disappearance of the woman’s symptoms. Fortunately, no damage to her eardrum was reported.

Subsequently, doctors at Tainan Municipal Hospital in Taiwan published a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing the woman’s unusual experience. They also shared a video of the procedure.

Dr. Tengchin Wang, co-author and director of the otolaryngology department at Tainan Municipal Hospital, mentioned that the woman did not experience pain as the spider was very small.

Jerry Rovner, an emeritus biology professor at Ohio University, offered insight into the spider’s behaviour, suggesting that the likely reason for it taking refuge in the woman’s ear was to find a safe shelter for molting. “Many hunting spiders seek a sheltered location for the purpose of molting, as they cannot defend themselves from predators during that process,” he explained.

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In a similar incident earlier this year, a woman who complained of ringing sound and ear pain was also found to have a spider inside her ear. The spider was discovered during an endoscopy, and fortunately, it was not poisonous, causing only minor damage to the woman’s ear canal.

A woman with hypertension presented to the clinic with a 4-day history of abnormal sounds in her ear. On examination, a small spider was seen moving within the external auditory canal of the left ear. The molted exoskeleton of the spider was also present. https://t.co/dye2sbbiL9 pic.twitter.com/SfeNBBGQS8

— NEJM (@NEJM) October 25, 2023