Opportunistic bacteria and yeast can quickly invade an ear canal that becomes inflamed by allergies, excess moisture, and changes in pH. Swimming and bathing are often triggers that encourage growth of microorganisms in the ear canal. (texaswestveterinarian.com)
any process designed to kill or retard growth of microorganisms (thermal processing, freezing, packaging) (csiro.au)
The minimum inhibitory concentration is the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that will inhibit the visible growth of a microorganism after overnight incubation in the lab. (sciencedaily.com)