Q tip cotton causes deafness for 9 yrs

[Lil Me]

A boy who has been partially deaf for nine years was suddenly cured - when a cotton wool bud popped out of his ear.   Jerome Bartens was diagnosed as deaf in his right ear when he was just two and has struggled at school ever since. [/p]  But Jerome, now 11, was suddenly able to hear clearly again as he played with friends in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. [/p]  He said he heard a popping sound, then  found the tip of a cotton wool bud in his ear.
 [/p] Full Story:
 [a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7214066.stm"]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7214066.stm[/a]
 [/p]  

[P.C.]

WOW....that's amazing.  It IS rather surprising a doctor wouldn't have picked up on that over all those years.

[Lil Me]

HUH?  Speak up.  I can't hear you.  

[JJ]

This story in The Province today, Cotton swabs in ears can be deadly, coroner warns :

   [A href="http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=065feacc-4332-4328-a00a-aa2f061ef392&k=75643"]http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=065feacc-4332-4328-a00a-aa2f061ef392&k=75643[/A]

[ouch]

I once heard this story where a girl was cleaning her ear with a q-tip, and the phone rang. She picked up the phone and put it against her ear...  she left the q-tip hanging in. Puncured the eardrum.