Middle ear foreign body. A hearing aid complication.

Inadvertent placement of molding for a hearing aid in the middle ear space caused symptoms of chronic ear disease, including pain, otorrhea, vertigo, and progressive neurosensory hearing loss. The problem failed to respond to conservative means, and removal of the foreign body was complicated by fixation to the ossicles. Removal was eventually accomplished via a mastoidectomy with facial recess approach to the middle ear. Even hearing aids are not entirely benign.