Socket down the defrost vent...

Hi all,

A couple weeks ago I replaced my defrost vent cover and in the process dropped a small socket down the vent. I wasn't worried about it it wasn't rattling around or anything so I just left it down there. Fast forward to now and I changed the air flow setting to defrost and the blend door made a grinding noise and there is barely any airflow from the defrost vent. I can only surmise that this is due to the socket that is now residing in the vent. So I popped the cover off and attempted to fish the socket out with a magnet, but no luck.

So, my question is - Is there an any way to access wherever that vent leads without pulling out the dash? Perhaps from the outside or under the dash?

Thank you