Woman captures moment she learnt a spider was living in her ear on TikTok

We’ve all had those bad dreams about creepy crawlies – but what about an actual spider crawling into your ear when you’re asleep?

TikToker Desirae Kelly said she was left “traumatised” after discovering that a spider had done just that.

After waking up in the middle of the night on 18 October, Kelly went to the bathroom then tried to get back to sleep – but felt something unusual in her ear.

Initially, she thought it was nothing, but quickly became alarmed when she realised it was moving, and sought medical help.

Kelly said: “The feeling can only be described as something fluttering in your ear.”

In the waiting room later that day, the fluttering turned to pain, “like a big clump of wax moving at the base of my ear drum”.

A nurse took a look inside told her it wasn’t a moth, but that something was curled up “back there”.

Understandably, Kelly had an “uneasy feeling” about there being a bug inside her ear – but things only got worse.

She said the nurse tried to flush the insect out with no success, then went to refill the spray.

That was when Kelly felt the unwanted visitor crawl out of her ear and drop onto her sweater.

“It was a spider,” she said tearfully. “It was alive. I threw up. I’m never sleeping again.”

“I should have known this wasn’t just a normal little bug when the nurse jumped back a step.”

Amazingly, this is the second time somebody has found a spider living in their ear and gone public about it this year.

Earlier in 2023, a patient at Huidong County People’s Hospital in China hit the news for similar reasons – and in that case, the insect had even begun weaving a web inside the ear.

Han Xinglong, a doctor at the hospital, told local media: “The web made by this spider is very similar to the eardrum.

“When the ear endoscope first entered, nothing abnormal was found. But when you look closely, there seems to be something moving underneath.

“I pushed aside the spider web, it was about to flee, but it was finally taken out smoothly.”

Experts say that if you find an insect inside your ear the number one rule is don’t panic – and don’t try and root it out with your fingers.

That method will only push the insect further into the ear canal, making it harder to remove in the long run, according to the Ear Hygiene Clinic in New Zealand.

“As soon as possible, drown whatever is in your ear. This can be achieved with either water or cooking oil,” it says.

Next, and most importantly, get yourself to a hospital so someone qualified can get the insect out.

Fortunately for Kelly, meanwhile, the spider didn’t lay any eggs or lose any limbs during its short stay inside her ear.

But now she sleeps with ear plugs nonetheless – and who can blame her?

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