some googles
What to do:
If there is a live insect in the patient's ear, simply fill the canal with mineral oil (e.g., microscope immersion oil). Lay the patient on his side and drop the oil down the canal while pulling on the pinna to remove air bubbles. This will suffocate the intruder, so it can be removed using one of the techniques below. The least invasive methods should be tried first.
Water irrigation is often effective for safely removing a foreign body that is not tightly wedged in the ear canal. This can be accomplished with an irrigation syringe, Water Pik, or a standard syringe and scalp vein needle catheter cut short (see above). Tap water or normal saline at body temperature can be used to flush out the foreign body by directing the stream along the wall of the ear canal and around the object, thereby flushing it out.
If the object is light and moves easily, attempt to suction it out with a standard metal suction tip or specialized flexible tip, whichever can make a vacuum seal on the foreign body.
If a hard or spherical foreign body remains in the ear canal, and the patient is able to hold still, you can attempt to roll it out with a right-angle hook, ear curette or wire loop. Stabilize the patient's head and fix your hand against it, holding the instrument loosely between your fingers to reduce the risk of injury should the patient move suddenly. Under direct visualizaton through an ear speculum, slide the tip of the right-angle hook, ear curette or wire loop behind the object (rotate the hook to catch) and then roll or slide the foreign body out of the ear.
Alligator forceps are best for grasing soft objects like cotton or paper. The wooden shaft of a long cotton swab can be armed with one drop of cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) to adhere to a smooth, clean, dry foreign body. Touch it to the foreign body, hold for ten seconds, then pull. Try not to glue the stick to the wall of the ear canal, but if you do, be thankful for cerumen (above).
What not to do:
Do not use a rigid instrument to remove an object from an uncooperative patient's ear. An unexpected movement might lead to a serious injury of the middle ear.
Do not attempt to remove a large bug or insect without killing it first. They tend to be wily, evasive little creatures well equipped for fighting in tunnels. In the heat of battle, the patient can become terrorized by the noise and pain and the instrument that you are using is likely to damage the ear canal.
Do not attempt to irrigate a tightly wedged bean or seed from an ear canal. The water may cause the bean to swell.
Do not attempt to remove a large or hard object with bayonet or similar forceps. The bony canal will slowly close the forceps as they are advanced and the object will be pushed farther into the canal. Alligator forceps are designed for the canal, but even they will push a large, hard foreign body farther into the ear.
