Earplug awfulness.

The other week my landlord needed to do a quick repair to the water heater in the basement, but I was still asleep and didn't get his text or hear his knock at my door, so he ended up coming into my apartment while I was still there, so I heard something in bed and I shot right up and shouted out, "Who's there?!".

Anyhow, it all worked out and he apologized later, but later that morning, I took out my earplug from my one left ear, but the right one had somehow got jammed a little bit down my right ear, and I couldn't get it out with my fingers like I normally can.

I messed around with that for like ten minutes, and I got a bit nervous that I might have to go to the emergency room, since I don't have any money.

So, I went upstairs to my landlord's to see if they could help me, but no-one was home right then, so I went back downstairs to my apartment and I tried using a Q-tip that I had cut the cotton off of to go pry it out, but that didn't work, and finally I used a metal fork to try and stab it, but that didn't work at first, but then the tines got around the end of the earplug, and so I was able to just pull it out that way.

That night I threw those f*ckers out, and started using new ones.

I hadn't realized that the rubber had degraded so much, and had put me at risk.