Untreated otitis media, man has maggots nesting in his ear

On July 31, the Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital ( Hanoi ) said that doctors there had just admitted a male patient from Ninh Binh for examination due to pain and discharge from the ear and hearing loss.

After performing an endoscopy, the doctors discovered many moving white foreign objects that were wriggling maggots filling the patient's ear canal. The doctors removed more than a dozen maggots on the spot. The patient's ear canal was swollen, narrowed, and there were still many maggots and inflammatory tissue inside, so they could not be completely treated.

This patient said that 2 years ago he had otitis media and went to get medicine near his house but it did not help. His hand was painful, had discharge, and had hearing loss for a long time, so he went to the Central Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital for a check-up.

The patient was temporarily prescribed medical treatment, intravenous antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Afterwards, the doctor continued endoscopic surgery to remove dozens of white maggots and treat the patient's inflammatory tissue.

Resident doctor Pham Anh Tuan, Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital said this is a rare case. Because when the patient had otitis media, he did not treat it thoroughly and clean it properly, so the pus attracted female flies to lay eggs inside the infection and develop into maggots. If not treated early, it can cause the infection to spread to complications such as meningitis, otitis media, and even lead to death.

From the above case, the doctor recommends that when symptoms such as pain, blood, and pus appear, people should quickly go to an ENT specialist for examination. In addition, people should clean their ears and personal hygiene every day.

Thu Phuong