A student who worried he was going deaf was in for the shock of his life after determining the true cause of his ear agony. Darren McConachie, 30, had been prescribed antibiotics by his doctor, after suffering what he believed to be just a simple ear infection.
Then, one night in bed, the journalism undergraduate sat upright, sensing a terrifying surge of pressure in the side of his head. As the pressure continued to build, the Glasgow-born man believed his ear had ruptured.
Then, to his dismay, Darren felt something dislodge inside his ear, which then – horrifyingly – began to move around.
Remembering this sickening moment, Darren, who studies at Edinburgh Napier University, revealed: “I thought my ear had ruptured. The pressure kept building and building. It was unbearable. Then I felt something small and hard sort of pop out.
“I felt the object, and I realised it was loose. I thought it was a piece of my inner ear – I was absolutely terrified. But as I held the little object in my hand – using my phone torch in the dark – I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. A tiny piece of pink Lego, covered in wax.”
The pain and pressure were finally alleviated, and Darren could once again hear in his left ear. As relieved as he was, however, the then 24-year-old suddenly found himself very, very confused.
According to Darren: “I hadn’t played with Lego for years, not since I was a wee boy. I didn’t really play with it after the age of four or five, I much preferred wrestling figures or playing football with my brothers.
“It must have been around the Millennium when I last built anything with Lego. I don’t remember sticking the brick in my ear – but however it got there, I reckon it was lodged there for the best part of 20 years.
“For most of my life I had no problems with my hearing, that was only something that started to happen when I got into my twenties. I genuinely had no clue it was in my ear all that time.”
Darren returned to his GP, who was left “genuinely dumbfounded” after he produced the Lego piece, having never encountered anything quite like it before. He recalled: “My doctor just sat in silence for a moment, genuinely dumbfounded.
“She told me it wasn’t the first time she’d seen a piece of Lego in this circumstance, but it was the first piece she’d ever heard of that had been buried in someone’s ear for so long. But from looking me over, she was confident there were no more pieces of Lego stuck in my head.”
At first, Darren’s family and friends simply assumed he was winding them up – then they saw the piece of Lego for themselves. Darren said: “In fairness, my brothers were actually great, they could tell I was in a lot of pain and actually went and got my prescription for me because I was so exhausted. But after just a few days of taking the medicine, the Lego popped out and suddenly I felt like I was in my own ‘who-dunnit’.
“My brothers enjoyed making a few jokes about the situation and we all wondered who’d put it in my ear, I don’t think that I would have put a piece of Lego in my own ear. One of my brothers looked more sheepish than the others, but I can’t say with absolute certainty that he did it.”
He continued: “My hearing today is actually very good. Usually I can hear things which other people can’t, and sometimes I believe it might be down to the piece of Lego just clearing out all the gunk.”
This comes as Well Pharmacy experts warn that modern appliances such as earphones can be responsible for people’s hearing issues, as these can push wax further back into the ear canal. The UK’s biggest independent pharmacy, Wells, has now rolled out new technology for suctioning ears, allowing for the safe, gentle removal of wax.
Using the latest TympaHealth technology, this service provides high-definition imagery and video to look inside a person’s ear. Discussing Well Pharmacy’s micro suction service, George Sandhu, Deputy Superintendent Pharmacist, stated: “For too long, blocked ears have been seen as an issue affecting older people, but we’re seeing more and more younger patients come in with related ear and hearing health challenges. By launching this service, we hope to help adults of all ages with their ear and hearing health.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
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