Okay, so maybe the patient didn’t hear an actual ticking, but he definitely heard a buzzing three days before presenting to a clinic in the US.

The nine-year-old boy, who lived in Connecticut, had been playing outside at school recently and complained of a foreign body sensation in his right ear.

He reported no pain, tinnitus or loss of hearing.

Physical examination revealed a wayward tick tucked into the tympanic membrane, with surrounding inflammation.