The discomfort in Susie Torres’ left ear felt like the water that can get stuck there after swimming. She heard swooshing when she woke up on Tuesday and assumed it had been caused by an allergy shot.

Torres, of Kansas City, Missouri, discovered she was wrong when doctors extracted a dime-sized, venomous brown recluse spider, Fox 4 News reported.

When a medical assistant looked in Torres’s ear, she ran out of the room to get her colleagues, KSHB reported. The medical assistant told Torres she thought there was a bug in her ear, and Torres tried to stay calm, according to KSHB.

Doctors told Torres the spider had not bitten her, KSHB reported. She told the network that she has started sleeping with cotton balls in her ears to make sure no other spiders can enter.

Bites from brown recluse spiders can cause muscle pain, nausea, difficulty breathing and other symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They typically are not aggressive, but they will bite if they are trapped or unintentionally touched.

Brown recluse spiders are also called “violin spiders” because of a violin-shaped patch on their heads, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. They usually are walking or running, instead of resting in a web.

Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species Show all 7 1 /7 Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species This green tree frog was one of three species of frog discovered in Papua New Guinea AP Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species A jumping spider species new to science, Tabuina varirata, and from a genus new to science, found on a conifer tree in a rainforest clearing during a Conservation International (CI) led Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition of Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 is pictured in this undated handout photo. REUTERS/Wayne Maddison/Conservation International/Handout Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species This Conservation International handout photo shows a bent-toed gecko, Cyrtodactylus sp. that is believed to be new to science discovered in dense rainforest in Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 STEVE RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species A Litoria frog, which uses a loud ringing song to call for a mate, was discovered in a rainforest during a Conservation International (CI) led Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition of Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 REUTERS/Steve Richards/Conservation International/Handout Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species This Conservation International handout photo shows a jumping spider species potentially new to science, Orthrus sp., found in a rainforest in Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 WAYNE MADDISON/AFP/Getty Images Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species This Conservation International handout photo shows a tiny species of frog with a sharp chirping call believed to be new to science, Oreophryne sp., discovered in limestone hills in Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 STEVE RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species A jumping spider species, Uroballus, found in a rainforest during a Conservation International (CI) led Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition of Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 is pictured in this undated handout photo REUTERS/Wayne Maddison/Conservation International/Handout

Spiders crawling into people’s ears is not unheard of. It happened to a man in China, a woman in Wales, a woman in India and a 9-year-old boy in Oregon.

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Anyone who realises they have a bug in their ear should try to make the insect float out with warm mineral oil, olive oil or baby oil, according to the Mayo Clinic. They can also try to remove it with tweezers if it’s visible, or they can tilt their head to the side or wash it out with a rubber-bulb ear syringe and warm water.