14 DAY TRIAL // After experiencing itchiness and discomfort in one of his ears for quite a while, a man in India finally decided to go see a doctor. Much to his surprise, he was told that a cricket was living inside his head.
More precisely, the insect, a photo of which is available next to this article, had not only taken refuge inside his inner ear but had also grown quite comfortable in its new home.
To remove the insect, doctors used a set of tweezers to grab hold of it and then gently pulled it out of the man's ear. At the time it finally left its shelter, the cricket was very much alive and kicking.
The mind-boggling procedure was caught on camera, and the video is available below. Be warned, though: this footage is by no means well suited to those even a wee squeamish, so proceed with caution.
How it all played out
As mentioned, this man in India had been living with the cricket throwing parties in his inner ear for quite a while when he finally got around to seeking medical help.
It is understood that the insect that kept him company for days on end measured an impressive 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in length. How it was that it managed to squeeze its body into the man's inner ear remains a mystery.
What's more, specialists are having trouble explaining why the cricket didn't just try to leave on its own. All things considered, chances are that the insect either liked its new home too much to abandon it, or was stuck inside the man's head.
The doctors who saw this case through say that, although the man's life was never at risk, the cricket could have caused injuries to inner ear. In turn, these injuries might have translated into balance and hearing issues.
The good news is that, despite the fact that it lived inside this man's head for a considerable period of time, the insect caused no major health trouble whatsoever. Other than the psychological trauma that this guy surely suffered, that is.
What sort of a cricket was it anyway?
Daily Mail tells us that, after looking at photos and videos of this insect, specialist Michael Sweet concluded that what his man had inside his head was an Indian house cricket. Not to scare you or anything, but as it turns out, such insects are a common sight all around the world.
“These critters are known to be an invasive species, appearing all over the globe,” Michael Sweet said in a statement. “They like warm countries and hide during the day. It is likely this cricket crawled into the man's ear while he was sleeping and was just hiding there until night came around,” he added.