subject: Living With Ear Microtia [print this page] Microtia ia a congenital ear deformity that affects 1 out of every 10,000 babies. Ear Microtia is when the ear is either under or undeveloped at birth. There are four grades that Microtia, a common birth defect, can fall under; 1) the external ear is underdeveloped, but has an external ear canal, 2) underdeveloped external ear and closed ear canal, 3) no external ear, ear canal, or drum, but a small vestige structure is visible, 4) no ear present, which is called Atresia.
The cause of Microtia and Atresia are not exact. Some research has been done on certain medications that the mother may have taken during pregnancy that may cause Microtia. It also has been theorized that low blood supply to that part of the fetus' body may be the cause of ear Microtia.
Children most affected by Microtia and Atresia are boys and generally have severe hearing loss. A newborn's hearing ability is generally tested within the first two weeks of life using a BAER test. Once a child is around five years old, a CT Scan is done to determine whether surgery would improve the child's ability to hear.
Surgery is an available option for those with Microtia, although some parents opt out of this. For those children who do not receive corrective surgery, hearing will always be impaired and/or nonexistent in the ear affect by Microtia. Some parents opt for the surgery merely to fix the ear deformity of those children born with Microtia. This ear reshaping surgery done on children is not meant to help their hearing improve; it is more to aid in the appearance of the ear that was misshaped due to the birth defect on the Atresia ear. Surgery of the external ear or ear canal is generally more effective for those children that are older and born with Microtia. Those parents that choose to have surgery done on the child's ear have several options to choose from. If the child is ten or older, the external ear can be reconstructed taking a graft from the child's rib cage. Alternatively, a prosthetic ear is an option for those affected by this congenital ear deformity.
For those children affected by Microtia and Atresia, there are many options in helping him or her with their hearing loss. For example, a BAHA, bone-anchored hearing aid is commonly used as an alternate to ear canal surgery.
There are two types of Microtia: unilateral Microtia and bilateral Microtia. Those born with unilateral Microtia can hear perfectly well through their other ear, whereas those with bilateral Microtia have hearing loss in both ears and oftentimes require surgery. Those with bilateral Microtia do still have some ability to hear due to Bone Conduction. Bypassing the ear canals altogether, sound waves can hit the bones of the nose, jaw, eye sockets, brow bone, etc and a noise vibration is created and sent directly to the inner ear.
Those children born with this congenital ear deformity, Microtia, generally live a full life because of surgery and ear reshaping options.
