A man spent 15 years not knowing he had a pencil stuck in his head following a childhood accident.

Doctors in Aachen, Germany said the 24-year-old sought help in 2011 after suffering for years from headaches, constant colds and worsening vision in one eye. A scan showed that a 4-inch pencil was lodged from his sinus to his pharynx and had injured his right eye socket.

The unnamed man said he did not know how the pencil got there but recalled that he once fell badly as a child.

The German doctors removed the pencil and said the man has recovered.