14 DAY TRIAL // A new Discovery Channel documentary dubbed “Bugs, Bites and Parasites” details the case of a 27-year-old woman who went on a trip to Peru and returned home to find that flesh-eating maggots had taken up residence inside her ear.
Rochelle Harris says that she first became aware of the fact that something was seriously off while flying back to her home in Derby, UK.
While on the plane, the woman started experiencing tremendous pain. What's more, she could hear scratching sounds inside her head.
At that time, she had no idea what was wrong with her, Daily Mail reports.
After waking up one morning to find that her pillow was drenched in fluid that had been leaking from inside her ear throughout the entire night, Rochelle decided to schedule an appointment with a doctor.
Specialists first assumed that Rochelle was battling a rather aggressive ear infection. However, further investigations revealed that the woman had maggots inside her ear.
Brain scans showed that, luckily for the 27-year-old, the maggots had been found before they had the chance to cause any permanent damage to her nerves, her ear or her brain.
After several failed attempts, doctors managed to remove eight large maggots from inside Rochelle's ear. Since then, the woman has not experienced any noteworthy health problems.
However, she admits that it will probably be a while before she ventures out of the UK again.