Background.The recently described coryneform bacteriaTuricella otitidisandCorynebacterium auriswere first detected in the middle ear of patients with acute otitis media and chronic otitis media. Whether these bacteria play an essential role in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion (OME) is unclear.Methods.In a prospective study 60 children with OME and 205 controls were evaluated to determine the incidence ofT. otitidisandC. auris. Swabs from the external auditory canal (EAC) and the middle ear effusion (MEE) of OME children undergoing tympanotomy, ventilation tube insertion or both were cultured. Swabs from the EAC from healthy children served as controls.Results.In control childrenT. otitidiswas found in EAC swabs from 23 of 205 (11.2%) andC. aurisin 32 of 205 (15.6%).T. otitidiswas isolated from 14 of 60 (23.3%) OME patients from the EAC only and in 6 of 60 (10.0%) OME patients from both EAC and MEE.C. auriswas isolated in 2 of 60 (3.3%) from the EAC only and in 1 of 60 (1.7%) from both EAC and MEE. In no patient didT. otitidisorC. aurisgrow exclusively from MEE.Conclusion.T. otitidisandC. aurismay be part of the normal bacterial flora of the EAC in some children. Neither organism seems to cause OME in children.