Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Ear Sample

An ear sample is often collected from an individual if the doctor suspects that the pain and swelling in the ears of the individual may be caused by bacteria. Ear infections can be painful because of inflammation and fluid buildup in the ear sections just behind the eardrums. The goal is to see if there is a bacterial infection present in the ear region. A cotton swab is gently inserted into the ear to collect the sample.

What is an ear infection?

An ear infection occurs when a viral or bacterial organisms affect the middle ear especially the regions behind the eardrum. Ear infections can be acute or chronic. Short- term or infections lasting for a short time are called as acute infections and can be painful but the duration of infection is short. The infections which take a long time to heal or recurring infections are called as chronic infections. The chronic ear infections may cause permanent damage to the middle ear or the inner ear. The symptoms of ear infection are mild pain or discomfort inside the ear, a feeling of pressure inside the ear that persists, fussiness in young infants, pus-like ear drainage, hearing loss, etc.

What are Aerobic bacteria?

Bacteria are the single-celled microorganisms that can live within the soil, in the ocean and also inside the human gut. They have a number of shapes such as spirals, rods, and spheres etc. Some bacteria can cause illness to the human body and some other plays a major role in the overall functioning of our ecosystem. Aerobic bacteria are the bacteria which can survive in the presence of oxygen only. In the absence of oxygen, aerobic bacteria cannot survive and can die. Some of the aerobic bacteria are Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nocardia, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis etc.

What are culture and sensitivity testing?

In laboratories, the bacteria are often grown with the help of growth media (nutrient preparation which acts as a source of food for the bacteria). The grown bacteria is observed under a microscope to identify the type of bacteria. The process is called as bacterial culturing. The bacterial culturing is often used in the field of medicine to identify the species of bacteria causing the infection and to know what kind of medicines are effective in killing the bacteria and planning the treatment accordingly.

Why this test is recommended?

This test may be recommended to you if you experience certain symptoms of ear infection like pain or discomfort in the ear, pus-like ear drainage, a feeling of pressure in the ear that persists, fussiness in young children, hearing loss, etc. This test may be specially performed to check if the infection is due to aerobic bacteria or not. This test is also recommended to plan the treatment according to the type of bacteria. The test is also recommended to check the effectiveness of the treatment given.

The normal test results may vary depending on age, health history, medical condition, etc.

If your test results show negative it means there is no growth of aerobic bacteria.

If your test results show positive it may indicate that you may have aerobic bacterial infection in the ear region.

If you get abnormal test results, consult your doctor immediately with your lab test reports.