A woman was stunned to discover a diamond had somehow became trapped inside her ear while undergoing an ear exam at a local clinic.

The unnamed woman said she visited the doctor after she felt like something entered her ear and she could not get it out.

Following her friend's suggestion, she went to a nearby clinic in Xi'an, in north-western China's Shaanxi Province, on September 22.

During the exam, the medic inserted a small camera in her ear canal and noticed there was indeed something sitting inside her left ear.

The patient said she tried to get the thing out with a cotton swab but apparently only managed to push it further inside.

As the doctor took out the object, both women were shocked to realise it was a small diamond. The woman said that she owns a pair of diamond earrings and had noticed one of the jewels went missing at the beginning of the month.

She had figured it probably fell somewhere and as there was nothing to do about it, she did not think much more of it. But after the doctor found it in her ear, she realised it must have fallen in while she was sleeping.

She said: 'Thank goodness I came to the hospital; otherwise, my ear might have been in serious trouble.'

The doctor explained that if she had come in any later, her ear might have been seriously damaged by the precious gem's pointy tip.

The woman added she is very thankful to her friend for persuading her to go to the hospital in a timely manner.

She said she wanted to emphasise the importance of taking off jewellery items before going to sleep, and she wanted to remind everyone to do the same.