Photo: from media report

A 1-year-old child was recently found with multiple sprouted plant seeds lodged deep inside the ear canal, with doctors at a Beijing hospital removing the foreign objects through surgery, according to Science and Technology Daily on Tuesday.

According to doctors, the child had recently been frequently scratching his ear but showed no obvious signs of distress, crying, or fever. The parents accidentally noticed a dried seed near the entrance of the child's ear canal and, concerned that more foreign objects might remain deeper inside, immediately brought the child to the hospital for examination.

During an ear endoscopy, chief physician Lu Yingxia discovered multiple plant seeds lodged deep inside the child's ear canal, tightly pressed against the eardrum. Because of the child's young age and inability to cooperate with an outpatient procedure, combined with the seeds' deep location and proximity to the eardrum, attempting removal in a clinic setting could have caused damage to the ear canal or eardrum.

Doctors therefore performed an ear canal foreign-body removal procedure under general anesthesia.

The operation lasted only five minutes, and all the seeds were completely removed. What shocked the medical team was that the seeds had already begun sprouting inside the child's ear canal.

The human outer ear canal is warm, moist, and rich in oxygen, while ear secretions and residual moisture can create a "natural incubator" for seeds to absorb water, germinate, and grow roots, Lu said.

In infants and young children, the ear canal is narrow and delicate, making it easy for tiny seeds to become trapped and remain lodged inside. Unable to fall out on their own, the seeds can swell as they absorb moisture, sprout, and continue to press against and irritate the surrounding ear tissues.

Such risks can be difficult to detect. Young children are often unable to clearly express discomfort, and foreign objects in the ear may initially cause only mild symptoms such as itching or a feeling of fullness, making them easy for parents to overlook. 

If left inside the ear for an extended period, swollen and germinating seeds can repeatedly irritate the ear canal lining, leading to redness, inflammation, and discharge. In severe cases, they may damage the eardrum, cause hearing loss, or trigger more serious ear conditions.

Global Times