Item #: SCP-XXXX
My scattered brainstorm notes for an SCP I'm working on. If you have suggestions or want to use this, just let me know.
Notes:
SCP-XXXX is a small, parasitic worm that infects the middle ear. In its larval stage the anterior end is a scolex, similar to that of members of the class Cestoda. The posterior end features four basal hooks to allow for anchoring into a fleshy surface. It has a transitional stage where its anterior end becomes wider. The adult stage
The worm has a complex life cycle that is still being researched. It is certain that the egg enters the middle ear through the Eustachian tube via the nasopharynx, having been inhaled by the host. Once in the Eustachian tube, the egg embeds into the tissue. The environmental conditions of the vibrations and air pressure within the tube cause the egg to hatch, releasing the larval form of the worm. The posterior end of the larva features hooks that allow it to anchor itself into the walls of the Eustachian tube. Consuming mucus and epithelial cells, the larva makes it way upwards into the middle ear.
At some point (and I'm still working this out in my mind) it reaches the tympanic membrane and anchors there. It begins eating the tensor tympani muscle beginning at its insertion on the eardrum and working its way into the bony canal above the tympanic cavity. The larva mostly maintains the tension on the eardrum previously held by the muscle being eaten, though hosts researched often reported an intermittent light roar as if they were yawning or had a bit of water in the ear, as well as the ear "popping" at random times.
After the tensor tympani muscle is completely ingested, the larva [DATA EXPUNGED] and the eardrum begins to be replaced by a transitional form of SCP-XXXX, with the mouth opening facing toward the external auditory canal and the posterior end facing the tympanic cavity. The head of the parasite acts as a replacement eardrum with an attachment to the malleus, but the resulting sounds are muffled. A human host may try to use cotton swabs to clean out the muffling, but this serves to push cerumen toward the parasite, which in this stage is its main diet.
This leads to why this is an SCP item. Once the parasite reaches its full adult stage, it begins intercepting sound waves coming into the auditory canal, consuming bits and excreting waste noises that alter what the original sound was. {Here I would put a "See Addendum" thing to lead to a brief list of some of the changes.} Because there is likely only one ear infected at this time, the sound can be attributed to mishearing something or waxy buildup. If both ears are infected, then the bigger problems arise, those of which I have not dreamed up yet. In any case the SCP-ish feature of this parasite is the fact that it "eats" sound waves with a particular affinity for complex human speech and the resulting "waste" material after consumption are corrupted words and sounds that somehow affect the host.
At some point the parasite asexually lays eggs in the Eustachian tube which make it into the nasopharynx and eventually into the other ear or to the outside where it can be inhaled by someone else.