We have all used cotton buds to clean our ears before. The feeling of satisfaction of having our ears cleaned is that refreshing as you can literally feel you have better hearing right after doing it. However, you might want to start cleaning your ears with a little bit more caution after reading what this woman had experienced after using a cotton bud.
An Australian woman luckily evaded a brain infection that could have resulted death from cleaning her ears with a cotton bud.
Jasmine Small, 38, reportedly spent months not being able to hear anything from her left ear. She also claimed that she had been initially been dismissed by doctors before, reported The Sun.
She stated that she often noticed a smelly brown discharge, sometimes with blood, when she cleaned her ears with a cotton bud.
Originating from New South Wales, Australia, the mother of four was prescribed with antibiotics, but apparently, that didn’t help at all.
Jasmine finally got referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist in 2017, who then carried out a CT scan.
The doctor surprisingly discovered an infection deep inside her ear – extremely close to her brain – due to a loose strand of cotton from a cotton bud.
Source: The Sun
When the doctor asked what did she put in her ear, she simply replied, “Cotton buds.”
“He said, ‘If you put this off any longer you probably would’ve died’,” stated Jasmine.
She then had to immediately undergo an operation, forcing her to cancel her honeymoon right after the revelation.
Fortunately, the surgery was a success but at the cost of having her hearing permanently damaged.
The 38-year-old woman has also been given the option of having further surgery to try and restore her hearing or have a hearing aid installed.
“To have a hearing aid at 38 is not right,” she said.
Doctors believe that the cotton could have been stuck inside her ear for up to five years.
It was said that Jasmine had been experiencing earaches before the revelation, and it wasn’t until 2016 that her hearing began to fade.
Do take note, everyone. Be sure to not dig too deep into your ears when using a cotton bud.
Also read: Here’s What You Should Do When A Bug Horrifically Gets Stuck in Your Ear
