Do You Know Where Your Ear Bud Pad Is?

My doctor has just finished checking the contents of my ears, and she remarks that she has found nothing unusual.

"That's good," I say. "We were camping, and I had the odd feeling a bug might have crawled in."
"Oh," she responds, "if you were expecting something, then it's not as surprising as when you're not."
I think on this a moment. "You mean people have things in their ears that they don't know are in there?"
"Oh yes, all the time."
"Such as?"
"Those pads from ear buds most often."

And she tells me of a time she found three (THREE!!!) ear bud pads in one man's ear.
He had no idea.

"His wife said she keeps buying them, and he keeps losing them."

The pads had been going in his ear and not coming out.
And he had no idea.

So listen, kids. If you've lost a pad from your earbuds, and you can't find it anywhere, check your ears.
And if a loved one appears to be losing his/her hearing, it might be useful to ask if he/she is also losing ear bud pads.