Last summer my nephew, about 2 1/2 then, complained off & on that he had a bead in his ear. He would only complain when it was "convenient" for him, bedtime, bath, etc. He is known for having a HUGE imagination, he's accused people of things that weren't even there at the time.
So my sister was hesitant & looked in his ears with a light several times & saw nothing. Finally they took him to the Peds. who sent them to the ER....he had a bead resting on his ear drum! Luckily they could just pull it out, otherwise it would've been surgery the next day!