Coping with Your Child's Microtia Diagnosis

If your child has been given a microtia diagnosis from his/her doctor then as the parent you need to familiarize yourself with this medical condition. The more you know the easier it will be for you to help your son or daughter to cope with all that comes with having such a health issue.

What do you need to know about a microtia diagnosis?

Microtia is a condition that is congenital in nature which means that an infant comes into the world with either a deformity of the ear or is missing one or both of his or her external ears. When this condition affects only one ear it is called unilateral and when it affects both it is called bilateral. It is more common for only one ear to be affected. Of the youngsters given a microtia diagnosis, 90 percent of them suffer from the unilateral form of this congenital problem.

This ear condition is found in approximately one in 6,000 infants. In the majority of cases the ear that is affected experiences a 40 percent reduction in hearing capacity. Most of the children who are born with this problem have inner ear canals that have developed as they were supposed to but they are missing the external part of the ear. If you baby has been diagnosed with this condition then you will be comforted by the knowledge that there are surgeons who are skilled at constructing a new ear for your son or daughter when the time is right.

No parent is happy to know that their infant has been born with an ear that is malformed. Children who are given a microtia diagnosis by a physician often can hear somewhat out of the ear that did not form properly. As the child gets older it is possible to find a surgeon who has the skills and experience to reconstruct the ear or ears that have been affected by this congenital condition. Surgery can return the ear to looking normal in appearance.

The majority of children who come into the world with this ear condition do not experience any health problems associated with the ear situation. This means that the youngster can recover from the surgery to repair the ear and from there can go on to have a normal, healthy and happy life.

Some people wonder why this medical situation constitutes a problem at all. In actuality it often looks worse than it is for the child. As previously stated, most babies who have this ear condition have a normal and healthy inner ear. This means that regardless of what their outer ear looks like or how much of it they have, they are still able to hear sounds.

Microtia is often viewed as being more of a cosmetic issue, to varying degrees. However the social effects of this circumstance can be improved upon with proper education about the medical condition and the emotional support that the child requires.