A bad place for gum

When my son was 4 years old I took him to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor told me my son couldn't hear very well. I felt very confused. I didn't know why my son couldn't hear very well. When the doctor cleaned his ear, he found something hard and black. He asked me what it was. I didn't know. My son then told us that it was gum. I asked my son why did you do that? My son explained that he had seen a cartoon on TV where someone put gum in their ear and then it came out of their nose. He wanted to try it himself. I was surprised and told him not to do it again. Today he has problems with his ear and I wonder if it was from the gum.