Microtia Facts to Assuage Fears

For those struggling to understand and come to terms with the fact that their newborn baby was born lacking part, or the entirety, of one or both of their ears it can be devastating and confusing to try and understand what is going on. Parents that are facing this condition, called microtia, should know first of all that there are remedies and surgical solutions to correct this problem. Undoubtedly, there are many questions running through one's mind and hopefully they can be put to rest. The number one thing that parents wonder upon finding out that their child has microtia is whether they could have prevented it. Doctor's are not entirely sure what causes this condition. There is indication that exposure to certain chemicals and medications may play a part. It is possible that environmental conditions or diet could effect development. It is true that there is a higher incidence among children whose parents had the condition but it is equally common for them to be born with normal ears. The fact is that no one thing that a person did or did not do caused this to happen. It simply is a condition that occurs sometimes and there are many ways to rectify the situation. Another question that people ask themselves is how this will affect the baby's hearing. The inner ear actually forms long before the outer pinna and that means that there is very little damage to hearing in children with microtia. The outer ear does work to amplify sounds and so there may be a little bit of difficulty hearing things as well or from what direction they are coming, but the actual functional parts of the ear are often fine. In the most severe instances where there is a complete lack of ear tissue, occasionally the passage into the head is obstructed or unformed and that can affect the transmission of sound. Typically a doctor can assess the level of assistance the child needs and prescribe hearing aids to compensate for the missing tissues. Of course, the next question that comes up is whether this condition is treatable. It is completely treatable, but it is not necessary. Some parents and children choose not to go to the risk of surgery upon surgery just to look like other people. Often a person will choose to simply wear their hair longer or just not worry about the opinion of others. In most cases microtia only affects one side of the head. Only in about a tenth of the cases are both sides affected. If one decides to have treatment usually it is done in several stages, slowly building up the structure as the surgeon goes. This can be spread out over the course of a few months or several years depending on the approach taken. Microtia can be an upsetting situation for a new parent. Take heart knowing that it is not going to detrimentally affect the quality of the child's life, and that if need be there are treatment options available to help.