ONE cannot claim to have visited a foreign country if he or she did not experience its soul. There is only one way to it, and the answer is through the street food that lines the gritty roads packed with bumbling people. But at times, it isn’t always about the food.
Take it from a western tourist who recently went viral for sharing his experience of having his ear cleaned on the streets of India. We all know the ear drum is a very sensitive organ so it comes as a surprise that some Tom, Dick and Harry off the road could substitute the otolaryngologists who earned their degree after many years of hard work.
$1 ear cleaning in India pic.twitter.com/KkuGWyBK4j
— Interesting As Fuck (@interesting_aIl) August 8, 2025
The result, however, was surprising. The man went to work, quickly pulling out masses of ear wax from the foreigner. However, a good number of netizens were sceptical about it, with some pointing out that it was all just a scam.
Netizen @Doors_Of_Janua said it was not really his own ear wax while @KaptanHindustan warned that it was a common scam where the perpetrator would produce this disgusting substance resembling ear wax.
“He probably just put that stuff on the stick with sleight of hand, Grok says it’s a common scam,” said @ToddKellgren.
@EmzUnfiltered further remarked that if it was genuinely in his ear, it would have been blocked and he would have hearing issues.
A good majority of netizens pointed out the health implication of engaging these street “doctors.”
“You were few inches away from a permanent ear damage,” added @crazygirel01 and we simply couldn’t argue with that.
“Do you think he sterilised those instruments before shoving them in that guy‘s ear?” said @IllIlIIIllIllll. Likely the answer is a big no.
Finally, @minihorse111 pointed out the fact that people could simply DIY by purchasing a little device with a camera on Amazon for just $20 and do it safely at home. But where’s the fun in that? We suppose a visit to an exotic country isn’t complete without puncturing an ear drum or contracting some life threatening disease.—Aug 10, 2025
Main image: @interesting_aIl (X)
