While you wouldn’t think that there would be enough space inside your ear to grow a shitake, a shocking new video proves that you don’t need mushroom at all for fungi. Recorded at a doctor’s surgery in Dien Bien Province, the startling clip appears to show hundreds of sprouting spores inside an ear canal, and is certainly not something that should be viewed before tucking into a plateful of porcini. 

According to a report in The Daily Mail, the unnamed woman featured in the video went to her local doctor after experiencing itching and pain inside her ear. The doctor, who has also remained anonymous, then used an electronic endoscope in order to examine the problem. It was this procedure that revealed the extensive fungal infection. 

When asked for comment by the Mail, London-based doctor David Bowdler, an ear, nose and throat specialist at the London Bridge Hospital, explained that the presence of “mushrooms” in the ear canal is actually a "classic ear infection." He went on to describe the case as “a fungal infection of the external ear canal, called aspergillus niger,” a fungus that scientists believe is responsible for as many as nine out of 10 fungal infections. 

Even though the video of the infection is seriously disturbing, a case like this is not as rare as you might think (or hope). Dr Bowdler revealed that the condition can arise after something as innocuous as using oral drugs as opposed to ear drops, since such medication does not effectively treat the ear. Symptoms can vary from anything as hearing difficulty, discharge, swelling and pain. 

Infections of this nature can vary enormously in terms of severity, but are usually most common in humid, tropical countries, where conditions naturally lend themselves to the promotion of fungal growth.

However, Dr Bowdler added that treatment is usually a simple affair, with a combination of direct drops and a small vacuum for removing any debris normally being sufficient.

While you wouldn’t think that there would be enough space inside your ear to grow a shitake, a shocking new video proves that you don’t need mushroom at all for fungi. Recorded at a doctor’s surgery in Dien Bien Province, the startling clip appears to show hundreds of sprouting spores inside an ear canal, and is certainly not something that should be viewed before tucking into a plateful of porcini. 

According to a report in The Daily Mail, the unnamed woman featured in the video went to her local doctor after experiencing itching and pain inside her ear. The doctor, who has also remained anonymous, then used an electronic endoscope in order to examine the problem. It was this procedure that revealed the extensive fungal infection. 

When asked for comment by the Mail, London-based doctor David Bowdler, an ear, nose and throat specialist at the London Bridge Hospital, explained that the presence of “mushrooms” in the ear canal is actually a "classic ear infection." He went on to describe the case as “a fungal infection of the external ear canal, called aspergillus niger,” a fungus that scientists believe is responsible for as many as nine out of 10 fungal infections. 

Even though the video of the infection is seriously disturbing, a case like this is not as rare as you might think (or hope). Dr Bowdler revealed that the condition can arise after something as innocuous as using oral drugs as opposed to ear drops, since such medication does not effectively treat the ear. Symptoms can vary from anything as hearing difficulty, discharge, swelling and pain. 

Infections of this nature can vary enormously in terms of severity, but are usually most common in humid, tropical countries, where conditions naturally lend themselves to the promotion of fungal growth.

However, Dr Bowdler added that treatment is usually a simple affair, with a combination of direct drops and a small vacuum for removing any debris normally being sufficient.