An elderly British man thought he was losing his hearing over the last few years. After finally buying a home endoscope kit, he discovered a small white object in his ear. Turns out, he was living with a piece of an old earbud stuck in his ear for the past five years!

For 66-year-old Wallace Lee from Weymouth in Dorset, he kept thinking his hearing problems were because he worked in the noisy aviation industry or possibly an old rugby injury, NDTV reported. After struggling with hearing loss for the past few years, he finally bought a home endoscope kit and spotted a small white object in his ear.

After spotting the white object, Wallace visited a doctor and felt “instant relief” when the unusual blockage was finally removed.

Wallace, a former navy engineer, believes the object got stuck during a plane journey. He thinks the earplug has been there since 5 years ago.

As his hearing started to get progressively worse, Wallace and his wife started to worry that he was going deaf. After buying the home endoscopic kit and spotting the object in his ear, Wallace made an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, who was able to remove the earbud.

The doctor tried tugging the piece out of his ear, but due to the buildup of earwax, it won’t move. Then he heard a pop and felt relieved because he could normally hear again.