A man in north-east China was shocked to discover that a spider had been living inside his ear.

The man in his 60s checked himself into hospital in Dalian city onafter the pounding sound in his left ear wouldn't go away, according to local reports.

Horrified doctors discovered the eight-legged beast crawling among a small cluster of webs inside the pensioner's ear canal and immediately removed it.

Crawled

The man told the doctor that he suspected that insect might have crawled into his ear and reported some itchiness in his ear during his sleep the night before, according to Dalian Evening News.

Doctor Cui Shulin, deputy chief physician at the department of otolaryngology at the Dalian Central Hospital, said the man complained of a tingling sensation and sounds like a drum beating in his ear.

Endoscope

Dr Cui and his nurses were shocked when the endoscope revealed the live spider having occupied the patient's ear canal about 5 centimetres (2 inches) deep.

The doctor eventually flushed the creature and its webs out by spraying the patient's ear canal with water, later confirming that the man's hearing and ear canal were not damaged.