Guest sues beachfront hotel after cockroach climbed into his ear while he slept and caused him hearing loss

The man has ‘suffered painful and permanent injuries’, the lawsuit says

A man is suing a South Carolina hotel after a cockroach crawled into his ear while he slept and allegedly caused him hearing loss, according to court documents.

Todd VanSickle of Ohio has filed a lawsuit for alleged negligence against  Sands Ocean Club Homeowners Association and Ocean Annie’s Operations, Inc, who operates Sands Ocean Club Resort at Myrtle Beach.

According to the lawsuit, Mr VanSickle stayed at the hotel in July 2021 and woke up with “extreme pain” caused by a cockroach crawling into his ear.

The incident has caused Mr VanSickle to suffer hearing loss and disruption to his daily routine both at home and at work, he alleged.

Mr VanSickle has "suffered painful and permanent injuries; has incurred and will continue to incur medical expenses; has suffered and will continue to suffer pain and discomfort; has suffered and will continue to suffer loss of wages and earning capacity," court documents claimed, according to Newsweek.

The Sands Ocean Club hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Google street view)

The lawsuit accused the hotel of being "grossly negligent" in failing to inspect for roaches, maintain hygiene in Mr VanSickle’s room and conduct pest control services.

This is not the first time a roach found its way into a human’s ear. In 2014, Australian resident Hendrik Helmer revealed his harrowing ordeal to the Guardian of finding a 2cm bush cockroach in his ear.

He said he felt “excruciatingly pain” and the feeling of the roach “sticking a knitting needle in your ear then tapping on it” as it was too big to move and “clawed further in, burrowing deeper with its mouth”.

“It was scratching and chewing on my eardrum,” he said. The cockroach has to be drowned in olive oil to be killed before it was pulled out.