A Scotsman discovers a LEGO brick in his ear after 20 years. The find explains long-standing complaints – and attracts international attention.

What started out as a harmless earache turned out to be a medical curiosity: after more than two decades, Scotsman Darren McConachie discovered the cause of his discomfort – a LEGO brick in his ear.

Due to discomfort at the ENT

As reported by the Australian trade portal Hearing Practitioner News, the 30-year-old from Glasgow consulted an ENT specialist after suffering from a slight feeling of pressure and hearing problems in his left ear for years. It was only an endoscopic examination that revealed the astonishing cause: a colored LEGO brick was stuck deep in his ear canal – and had apparently been there since he was a child.

LEGO brick in the ear

McConachie himself told the portal that he vaguely remembered putting a LEGO brick in his ear while playing when he was about eight years old – but at the time there were no complaints, so the event was quickly forgotten. The surprise was all the greater when the object was discovered 20 years later.

According to Hearing Practitioner News, the procedure went without a hitch: the doctor removed the plastic piece with a fine pair of forceps, and McConachie immediately reported a significant improvement in his hearing. “It was like flipping a switch – suddenly everything was clearer,” he said.

Unusual event

Medical experts emphasize how unusually long the foreign body had remained unnoticed in the ear. According to Australian ENT specialist Dr. Jeevan Dev, who provided medical support for the case, this could only be explained by the object being located in the ear canal with great precision, without triggering any acute inflammatory reaction.