After going to the barber for earwax removal, a Ho Chi Minh City man ended up with the earpick stuck inside his malleus.

The accident occurred on Wednesday, and the unlucky customer was immediately rushed to the city’s Ear Nose Throat Hospital.

The barber’s attendant was picking the customer’s earwax with a metal earpick but was unable to remove the tool after getting it stuck in the customer’s malleus -- the small bone in the middle ear that transmits vibrations of the eardrum to the incus.

The patient had previously suffered ruptured eardrum and cholesteatoma, an abnormal skin growth in the middle ear behind the eardrum, doctors said.

With such injuries inside his ear, it was unfortunate that the ear scoop became stuck in his malleus, according to doctors.

The patient was anesthetized for doctors to remove the picking tool from his middle ear, and has recovered well, doctor Le Khanh Huy said on Thursday.

Doctor Huy also warned against having earwax removed at barber shops due to high risk of ruptured eardrum and infectious disease caused by the repeated use of the same tool on many customers.

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