This is the skin-crawling moment a cockroach was removed from a man's ear in the Philippines.

Leo Orendain, 39, had just returned home from work and immediately flopped into bed before he woke in pain.

He jolted upright as he felt something scratching inside his ear canal in Santo Tomas, Batangas province on September 12.

Leo's wife rushed to the bedroom after hearing him screaming that "a huge ant entered his ear" and called their cousin Erwin Centeno for help.

Using a torch and tweezers, Erwin began to explore the man's ear looking for the creature but they were surprised when a cockroach leg dangled out.

He said: "The cockroach was moving its feet, I thought we were only removing an ant. I could not believe that it would fit there."

The family poured baby oil on the ear canal hoping that the creature would come out of its but it only burrowed deeper.

After two hours of poking, Leo decided to sleep with the cockroach left inside so they could all rest in the meantime.

He refused to visit a hospital in fears of catching Covid-19 virus, and there was no public transportation available at nighttime.

The next day, Leo even went to work and did not have problems carrying the insect with him, but come evening, he felt painful scratching inside his ear.

He said: "I could feel the pain from my ear up to my brain. I felt like it was biting me inside."

The cockroach, after being stuck in the narrow hole for more than 12 hours, squirmed inside trying to find a way out.

Erwin resumed reaching for the creature again that has partially emerged out of the ear canal.

Initially, they were able to remove one leg using the tweezers until they were able to remove its entire body.

The Harlequin cockroach was more than one inch long and already dead when it was taken out of the ear.

Leo's ear had blood marks and small wounds when the insect was removed so he had his ear checked for injuries but doctors said he was fine.

Doctor Dorris Velasco said: "He was lucky. His eardrum looked normal and we did not find any abrasions. It was intact and no damage was left by the insect."

Leo went home after the check-up and said that he will always clean the house to rid of the pests.