Man swallows earbud in his sleep, hears it beeping from his stomach

A 33-year-old man in India swallowed a wireless earbud while sleeping and went to the hospital after hearing its locator beep from his abdomen. Doctors monitored the device as it moved through his digestive tract, but removed it by colonoscopy after it stopped moving and he developed mild discomfort. The earbud was removed intact, and follow-up examinations found no complications.

An X-ray showed the intact earbud, measuring 2.6 by 1.7 centimeters, inside the man’s stomach when he arrived at the emergency department about six hours after the suspected swallowing.

Doctors took abdominal X-rays every six hours to track the earbud’s movement through the digestive tract.

The earbud stopped in the lower-right abdomen about 24 hours after the man arrived, and its position did not change on X-rays over the next 24 hours.

During colonoscopy, doctors found the earbud in the cecum and removed it with a small mesh retrieval device; the intestinal lining was undamaged.

The doctors noted that damaged earbud casings or leaking battery contents can injure the digestive tract, and that colonoscopic removal may be considered if a device becomes lodged or stops moving. The case was published in Cureus.

Published Oct 29, 2026 4:05 pm KST

An abdominal X-ray shows an earbud accidentally swallowed by a man while sleeping. The upper-right image shows the earbud in the cecum during a colonoscopy. Courtesy of Cureus

A man accidentally swallowed a wireless earbud while sleeping at night in a frightening incident that led to its eventual removal through a colonoscopy.

After turning on the alert sound to locate his missing earbud, the man heard beeping coming from his abdomen and went to the hospital.

The case was reported by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raebareli and the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh, India.

According to the report, the 33-year-old man fell asleep while listening to music and woke up with the sensation that something was stuck in his throat. The discomfort disappeared after he swallowed several times, although he vaguely remembered swallowing something.

When he got up in the morning, he noticed that one of his earbuds was missing. He immediately activated the Find My Earbuds feature on his smartphone. To his surprise, he heard a beeping sound coming from inside his abdomen. He rushed to the emergency department.

The man arrived at the emergency department about six hours after he was believed to have swallowed the earbud. He had no vomiting or abdominal pain and had no difficulty swallowing food. An X-ray revealed the intact earbud, measuring 2.6 by 1.7 centimeters, inside his stomach.

As the earbud had already passed through the esophagus and the man showed no obvious symptoms, doctors decided to monitor his condition in the hospital. Abdominal X-rays were taken every six hours to track the device's movement.

The earbud moved down through the digestive tract along with intestinal movements. However, about 24 hours after the man arrived at the hospital, it stopped in the lower-right abdomen. X-rays taken over the following 24 hours showed no change in its position. The man also began experiencing mild abdominal discomfort.

Doctors eventually decided to remove the earbud through a colonoscopy. After administering bowel-cleansing medication and a sedative, they inserted an endoscope. The earbud was found in the cecum, a pouch-like structure at the beginning of the large intestine. Using a small mesh retrieval device, the doctors secured and removed it.

The earbud's outer casing remained intact, and no damage was found to the intestinal lining.

The man was monitored for 24 hours after the procedure before being discharged. Follow-up examinations one week and one month later revealed no complications.

Unlike ordinary foreign objects, wireless earbuds contain rechargeable batteries. If the casing is damaged or battery contents leak, they can injure the lining of the digestive tract. In severe cases, complications such as perforation of the stomach or intestines may occur.

In their paper, the doctors wrote that treatment decisions should be individualized according to the patient's condition, the characteristics of the device, its location in the body and whether repeated imaging shows that it is moving.

They added that colonoscopic removal may be considered when a device becomes lodged or stops moving through the digestive tract.

The case was recently published in the international medical journal Cureus.

This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

印度一名33岁男子睡梦中吞下一只无线耳机，听到腹部发出定位器哔哔声后前往医院就诊。医生监测了耳机在其消化道内的移动情况，但当耳机停止移动且患者出现轻微不适时，医生通过结肠镜将其取出。耳机完整取出，后续检查未发现任何并发症。

X 光片显示，这名男子在疑似吞咽耳塞约六小时后到达急诊室时，他的胃里有一根完整的耳塞，尺寸为 2.6 厘米 x 1.7 厘米。

医生每隔六小时进行一次腹部 X 光检查，以追踪耳塞在消化道中的移动情况。

男子入院约 24 小时后，耳塞停止在其右下腹部，并且在接下来的 24 小时内，X 光片显示其位置没有发生变化。

在结肠镜检查过程中，医生在盲肠中发现了耳塞，并用小型网状取物装置将其取出；肠道内壁未受损。

医生指出，破损的耳机外壳或泄漏的电池可能会损伤消化道，如果耳机卡住或停止移动，则可能需要考虑通过结肠镜取出。该病例已发表在 Cureus 杂志上。

发布于2026年10月29日下午4:05（韩国标准时间）

腹部X光片显示一名男子在睡梦中不慎吞下一只耳机。右上图显示，在结肠镜检查过程中，耳机位于盲肠内。图片由Cureus提供。

一名男子在夜间睡觉时不慎吞下无线耳机，这一惊险事件最终导致他不得不通过结肠镜检查将其取出。

男子打开警报声寻找丢失的耳机后，听到腹部发出哔哔声，于是前往医院。

该病例由印度拉埃巴雷利全印度医学科学研究所和昌迪加尔政府医学院附属医院的医生报告。

据报道，这名33岁的男子在听音乐时睡着了，醒来后感觉喉咙里好像有什么东西卡住了。他吞咽了几次后不适感消失了，但他隐约记得自己吞咽了什么东西。

他早上起床后发现一只耳机不见了。他立即启动了手机上的“查找耳机”功能。令他惊讶的是，他听到腹部传来哔哔声。他赶紧去了急诊室。

这名男子在吞下耳机约六小时后抵达急诊室。他没有呕吐或腹痛，吞咽食物也没有困难。X光片显示，他胃里有一根完整的耳机，尺寸为2.6厘米×1.7厘米。

由于耳机已经通过食道，且该男子没有出现明显症状，医生决定将其送往医院密切观察。每隔六小时进行一次腹部X光检查，以追踪耳机的移动情况。

耳塞随着肠道蠕动向下移动。然而，男子入院约24小时后，耳塞停留在右下腹。随后24小时内的X光片显示耳塞位置没有变化。该男子也开始出现轻微的腹部不适。

医生最终决定通过结肠镜检查取出耳机。在服用清肠药物和镇静剂后，他们插入了内窥镜。耳机位于盲肠，即大肠起始端的一个囊状结构中。医生使用一个小型网状取物装置将其固定并取出。

耳塞外壳完好无损，肠道内壁也未发现损伤。

术后该男子接受了24小时的观察，之后出院。一周后和一个月后的复查均未发现并发症。

与普通异物不同，无线耳机内置可充电电池。如果耳机外壳损坏或电池内部电池泄漏，可能会损伤消化道内壁。严重时，甚至可能引发胃穿孔或肠穿孔等并发症。

医生们在论文中写道，治疗方案的制定应根据患者的病情、设备的特性、设备在体内的位置以及重复成像是否显示设备正在移动等因素进行个性化调整。

他们补充说，当装置卡住或停止在消化道内移动时，可以考虑通过结肠镜取出。

该病例近期发表在国际医学期刊《Cureus》上。

本文来自韩国顶级医疗保健门户网站 Kormedi.com，由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。