Years ago, my mother complained about a terrible earache, Robero Ferdman reports on washingtonpost.com.
The pain was unbearable. And it wouldn't go away — for a week, she walked around with a debilitating ringing in her head, he added.
Eventually, she recalled to me the other day, the discomfort led her to a doctor, who carefully pushed an otoscope into her ear. Within seconds, he pulled it out and looked her in the face.
"Have you been putting Q-tips in your ears?" he asked with a disapproving tone.
For more on why you shouldn't use Q-tips inside the ear: http://kenallensforum.blogspot.com/
