THE INVESTIGATION EAR MICROBIAL FLORA OF HANDS-FREE USERS AND COMPARING IT WITH OTHERS

Ear infection is one of the most important infectious chronic diseases throughout
the world, and it is likely that the use of tools such as hands-free causes the transfer of microbial flora
and aids the activity of pathogenic microbes. This study compares the ear microbial flora of hands-free
users with those who have never used the hands-free in Urmia.
Materials & Methods: In this study, regardless of the gender, the ears of 24 people (within the range of
20 to 30 years old) who have continuously used hands-free for 3 years and also the ears of 24 people
who have never used hands-free were sampled. The samples were cultured in general and specific
environment and by using diagnostic tests, the bacteria were identified.
Results: The bacteria isolated from the ears of those who have never used hands-free included:
Lactobacillusus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, staphylococcus saprophyticus and non-hemolytic
Staphylococcus, and the bacteria isolated from the ears of hands-free users included: Staphylococcus
epidermidis, staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus aurous, D-non hemolytic streptococcus and
viridians streptococcus.
Conclusion: This investigation showed that the use of hands-free causes the transfer of the type and
abundance of microbial flora in ears. The result of Chi-square data analysis (P <0.05) also suggested the
significance of these differences.