Horror After Woman Finds Out What Was Tickling Her Ear: ‘Throwing Up’

A TikTok video revealing an unsettling discovery has given internet viewers the creeps, amassing more than 7 million views.

The clip begins with Lauren, a brand strategist (@thisrenegadelove), who appears shocked and distressed. The text reads: “I kept thinking my hair was tickling my ear under my headphones.” The camera then flips to reveal the culprit—an earwig.

The text layered over the footage reads, “screaming, crying, throwing up,” and the caption emphasizes how she “will never recover from this.” It seems social-media users feel the same, as the July 6 post has racked up over 630,000 likes. More than 6,380 users have also commented on the post, many of which are sharing their own experiences.

“An earwig got into my water bottle and was chilling in my straw and I sucked him up in my mouth. Screamingcryingthrowingup never felt so real,” wrote one user.

Another posted: “My house is infested with these [right now]. I’m living in fear, I do not know peace anymore.”

“I had one in my asthma inhaler once if it ejected out when I was taking it. It pronged my throat with its butt and made my throat go numb for hours -1000/10,” added a third commenter.

There are 22 species of earwigs in the U.S., with 12 introduced from other countries, according to Penn State Extension, an educational organization. Only four to five species commonly invade homes. The most prevalent pest species is the European earwig (Forficula auricularia), found across much of the U.S. where it often seeks shelter in homes and becomes a significant household pest. When they do invade homes, they can infiltrate almost everything, from laundry and furniture to loaves of bread, clothing, and bedding. They hide in cracks and crevices around the house, or in this case, headphones.

Earwigs are often feared due to an old superstition that they burrow into people’s ears and consume their brains while they sleep. In 2021, researchers from Konkuk University Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, confirmed that, while these insects can occasionally enter the ear and cause significant discomfort, they do not penetrate any deeper.

Earlier this year, YouGov released data based on how American’s feel about insects. Earwigs were not included in the poll but mosquitoes were ranked as the most-hated insect, with 86 percent of 1,148 adult participants expressing negative feelings toward them. In contrast, butterflies, fireflies, and ladybugs garnered the most positive reactions, placing them in the top three for favorable perceptions.

Newsweek reached out to @thisrenegadelove for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.

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