My Little Guys Ears

Hi J. -
My daughter is the same way......she is 4 years old now. She has one of my ears and one of her fathers. Its very normal. Try not to worry about it.

Hi J.,
My 6 yr old daughter is deaf. If you're really worried take your son to an audiologist. this will give you peace of mind. If your son's Dr. gives you a problem with a referral, you can do several things. You can get a second opinion. I knew my daughter had a hearing loss at 12mo. The Dr. didn't believe me. I am sure your Dr. means that just because his ears are shaped differently doesn't mean anything else is wrong. It is just cosmetic. Still it does bother us as parents. I wish you all the best. Good luck with your son. I wouldn't let people who are rude enough to say anythingabout it bother you.
K.

My son is 3 and his ears don't match. Personally I think it's adorable. Anyone can have ears that match. Don't worry about it and if someone says something to you, just smile and say, "aren't they adorable."

I noticed my daughters ears were different at birth. I was able to ask the PED in the hospital about it and she said, "her hearing test came back normal, so it is just one more thing for you to clean". One ear had an extra fold near the ear hole. So I had heard that you could reshape cartlidge by rubbing it, so I rubbed the extra fold every day. Eventually her extra fold went away more noticeably about 6 - 7 months and now I think they look the same. I never even think to look again. It is not a big deal, he is healthy. If someone asks, just answer the question as simple as possible and move on :)

Dear J.,

It is so hard to be a mom, isn't it? I am quite old and lost my son 3 years ago, and I still miss him with all of my heart. God gives us such precious ones to love and care for, and He also gives us the strength to get through tough times when we want such good for our darlings and things don't work out that way. Be strong and thank God that you have this great human being to love.

Also, you probably can have plastic surgery on one of the ears, or both to make them match. I would plan on doing that, if I were you. He will not need to be teased about his appearance, life is hard enough without that. BUT, you need to wait until his growth pattern has stabilized. Does that make sense? The doctor will say, wait until he is older. I recommend that you keep that in your mind and you will find a way to do it, and do not let anyone change your mind.

Also, say yes, isn't that interesting? Most people's ears are the same, aren't they? People just like to comment and they have no idea how much it hurts us. So don't hide it, bring it up, and they will have no power over you or him. They will just trot off and leave you in peace.

Sincerely, C. N.

J. -

There is no need to be so sensitive about your child's ear shape - it is one of the beautiful, but unusual, things that makes your child unique! Unless the shape of his ears becomes a medical issue, its important NOT to be overly sensitive about it because then, your child will grow up being ashamed and sensitive too. As he gets a little older and can understand that his ears are different that anyone elses, you explain to him that its one of those things about him that is different than everyone else, and that makes him special, not deformed. He might get teased in school when older, but if the other children dont pick his ears to tease him about, they will choose something else. It's important to instill confidence in him about himself, not make him shy or embarrased about what makes him HIM. If your doctor has not mentioned anything about your childs ears at either birth or any of his check-ups, then I would assume that there is nothing wrong.
My daughter has VERY unusual toes, two out of five on each of her feet cross under and over each other - both my husband and I have normal toes, and it seems like its just one of those things that is unique to my child. She probably wont ever get to wear cute shoes as an child and adult, and they arent necessarily the cutest thing ever, but its what makes her HER.
I have seen children will all sorts of things different about their faces - I am a teacher and a special education teacher, so I see beyond unusual all the time. I grew up with a little boy that had enormous ears, set low on his head, that stuck out like an elephants: they were differently shaped than each other also. People made comments on his ears when he was a child, but he grew up a happy, healthy, well adjusted child. Now, in his adulthood, he has decided himself to have his ears "pinned" so that they dont stick out so much - but the shape is still strange, and different. It has not effected his life negatively, and is now a very sucessful lawyer.
Remember now too that your child is very young, and that his ears may still change.
Don't let it bother you, J.. Your child is beautiful.

As long as he can hear, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Remember that once he has a little more hair, his ears won't even be that noticable. no one is perfectly symmetrical. and unless they look deformed, who is going to really notice that often?

My kid has a droopy left eyelid, and LOTS of folks notice that, some actually say something dumb like "oh look, he's Popeye!" until they realize he's not doing it on purpose. You just gotta chalk it up to folks being rude and stupid. There's plenty of them out there.

In my case, my kid needs surgery (next month) because he can't see well out of it and it will affect how his vision develops if we don't open it up. But if it weren't for that, I'd wait on it to see how his eyelid muscles develop over time to compensate for it. You can see it here http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e108/arwelch/Jonahman.jpg

he already notices the difference (only 3 months old) and lifts his eyebrow to compensate, and doesn't open the other one as wide so most of the time they look fairly even. but when he's sleepy or blinking, its pretty noticable.

Like I said, if all the parts are working... don't sweat it.