10-Year-Old Boy Grows Mould In Ear Canal, Apparently Wore Earphones Too Much

10-Year-Old Chinese Boy Grows ‘Fluffy’ Mould In Ear Canal, Wore Earphones Too Often

Many of us would be guilty of wearing earphones for long hours when we are working from home during the ‘Circuit Breaker’.

But having these audio devices on over long periods can lead to some pretty severe complications too, as you’re about to see.

Doctors recently found a ‘fluffy’ hunk of mould inside a 10-year-old boy’s ear, allegedly caused by prolonged usage of in-ear headphones.

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10-year-old Chinese boy complained of pain in ear

According to Chinese news site ETtoday, the strange occurrence started when the 10-year-old boy complained of pain in his ear.

Worried, the boy’s mother took him to the Shunyi Women and Children’s Hospital to get it checked out.

The child apparently complained that his ears felt “stuffy”, and couldn’t seem to hear properly too.

Doctor found “fluffy” mould in boy’s ear

Upon having a closer look at the boy’s ears, the doctor found something rather troubling.

The boy’s ear canals were apparently covered in a fluffy-looking black mould, which probably caused the pain and discomfort he felt.

Warning: the picture below might be disturbing for some. 

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Mould grew as boy apparently wore earphones too much

You might be thinking — how in the world did the mould get there?

Apparently, the kid wore in-ear earphones so often that he trapped moisture in his ear canals and created the perfect mould-growing conditions in his head.

Ear picking, humidity, wearing in-ear earphones are causes of mould

This is undeniably shocking and disgusting, but it’s actually way more common than you think, especially in younger children.

Sina Chongqing reports that other factors could cause mould to grow in one’s ear too. These include,

• Ear picking
• Increase in temperature and humidity.

In the boy’s case, ear-picking apparently caused damage to his ears, while using in-ear earphones prevented his ear canals from being ventilated, hence creating the optimal moist conditions for mould to grow.

For illustration purposes only
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Humidity can be an important factor too, as it can make the ear canals damp.

Keep your ears dry & stop picking them

Fortunately, the boy will be fine after a few weeks of treatment, reports ETtoday.

Lots of us are probably wearing our in-ear earphones a lot more often now to take Zoom calls now, so here are a few tips so you don’t grow ear mould too.

Keep your ears dry, and don’t pick at them with cotton buds too much. Remember what Chandler Bing says,

You have to stop the Q-tip when there’s resistance!

Featured image adapted from Far End Gear and ETtoday. Pictures are for illustration purposes only.