Dida Armstrong Suffers Scary Cricket Injury After ‘Fear Factor’ Challenge

There were a lot of "extreme" shows in the early 2000s with some wild premises. Take MTV's paranormal series Fear, which ended up not being renewed, not because it wasn't successful or for a dip in ratings, but because it was a logistical nightmare for production to take on at the time.

NBC's Fear Factor, however, didn't have those issues and was a consistently top-performing show with subsequent reboots. Including House of Fear. And on its ninth episode, "Short Circuit," something happened to contestant Dida Armstrong that has fans worried. So what went down?

While filming the episode, the pro U.S. soccer player can be seen covering his ear as he asks for medical assistance. Furthermore, blood dripped out of his ear canal, prompting worry from other show participants along with host Johnny Knoxville.

Initially, a medic placed saline solution inside the athlete's ear, but Dida's condition didn't improve, prompting him to be carted away in an ambulance. After having a meeting with some of the show's participants and jogging off camera with a fellow contestant, Dida can be heard saying: "I actually have something in my f--king ear," as he put his hand up to the side of his face.

"It's my left ear, it's my left ear," he groans. And then he reveals the cause of the acute pain he experienced in the moment: "It's probably a cricket." In a clip shared to the Reality Club Fox and Fear Factor Instagram pages, Dida's pain is shown to intensify, prompting him to wail loudly as he's taken to receive medical assistance.

In the comments section of the video, Did commented that his "ear is OK." Moreover, folks who saw the episode expressed sympathy and words of encouragement for Dida, with many stating that they hope the show will bring him back for further challenges.

Several Instagram users also extolled Dida for the pain he endured with House of Fear's needle challenge. In Episode 6, "Pain Auction," cast members had to endure a 24-hour period of pain in order to remain on the show or risk elimination.

Dida had 13 needles inserted into his arms, prompting loud screams from the athlete. However, he didn't give up and made it through the challenge.

Ultimately, the cricket incident prevented him from continuing with the show. Several folks who saw Dida's ear injury wondered why production didn't take precautions with the crickets in the episode.

"Y'all gotta have earplugs for the contestants when they do challenges like that. Having someone sent to the hospital with their ear bleeding is crazy. Infections could happen as well as scratches inside the ear, causing potential hearing loss, with lawsuits happening," one X commenter posted on social media.

On YouTube, Reality Club and Fear Factor published a video that shows the stunt that left Dida with a cricket inside his left ear canal. Three of the contestants were suspended above the ocean with plexiglass boxes over their heads.

Then, crickets are dumped on top of their heads. With nowhere for the bugs to go, one of the small critters must have jumped up inside Dida's eardrum. Here's hoping that Dida has since made a full recovery!