It’s the stuff of nightmares and horror films: you can’t stop scratching, but the source of the itch is far from a mild skin rash or infection, it’s much worse—it’s an animal that has wormed its way into your body without you knowing. And this poor guy from India knows exactly how it feels.

The unidentified man went to his doctor after experiencing discomfort in one of his ears, and a closer examination soon revealed what was going on: an insect was living inside his ear canal. After he gently pulled it out with tweezers, the disgustingly impressive size of the critter—which turned out to be a cricket—was revealed. Lucky for the people who enjoy feeling nauseous, the doctor recorded the removal procedure, and I don’t need to warn you how vile it is. Watch if you dare:

Michael Sweet, a university lecturer and invertebrate expert, told the Daily Star: “These critters are known to be an invasive species, appearing all over the globe. They like warm countries and hide during the day. It is likely this cricket crawled into the man’s ear while he was sleeping and was just hiding there until the night came around.”

This is certainly not the first time that an insect has ended up in an unfortunate victim’s ear. Last year, a woman found screwworm-fly maggots in her ear after traveling to Peru. She noticed something was wrong after she suffered severe headaches and heard scratching noises in her head. According to the BBC, the larvae had actually chewed a 12 millimetre hole in her ear canal. *Shudders*

Enjoy your lunch!

[Via Medical Daily and Daily Star]