It’s both exciting and satisfying to meet our newborn babies! We joyfully admire their appearance, playfully arguing about who the baby looks most like—mom or dad. We are thankful that our baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes and appears physically normal in every way. However, we also notice that the baby’s ears stick out—noticeably—from the side of his or her head. Here are some examples of what are called “protuberant” or “protruding” external ear deformities:
The ears above are four examples of protuberant external ear deformities, which are generally simple to fix, either with time or with an external ear remodeling device like EarWell®. You might be surprised to know how rapidly your little one’s ears can be brought to a normal appearance without ear surgery, pinning or discomfort to your baby. Furthermore, most EarWell treatments are covered entirely by health insurance, including military insurance and public insurance, such as Medicaid.
What Causes Protuberant Ears in Newborns?
Babies’ ears can stick out for several reasons, and in most cases it’s simply a normal variation in how the ear developed before birth.
Common causes for ears that stick out:
- Genetics: Ear shape and position are strongly inherited. If one or both family members (siblings, parents, grandparents) have ears that stick out, your baby may as well.
- Ear cartilage development: The outer ear (pinna) is made of cartilage. If certain folds of the cartilage don’t form as deeply as usual, or if the bowl-shaped part of the ear is larger than average, the ears may project farther from the head.
- Temporary positioning: Newborn ears are soft and flexible. Pressure in the womb or sleeping positions after birth can temporarily affect how the ears appear, though this often changes as the cartilage stiffens.
- Normal anatomical variation: Ear prominence is usually a cosmetic difference rather than a medical problem and doesn’t affect hearing.
The good news is that, as your baby grows, their ears will continue to develop. Sometimes ears that seem very prominent in infancy become less noticeable as the head and face grow. If you are concerned about your baby’s ear shape, a pediatrician can evaluate whether it’s simply a normal variation or part of a rarer condition.
A qualified EarWell physician, specifically trained in both identifying the various external ear deformities and in understanding how EarWell can change the shape of your baby’s ears, is the appropriate doctor to evaluate your concerns about your baby’s ears.
Solutions for Prominent or Protuberant Newborn Ear Abnormalities
There are three primary solutions for babies with external ear abnormalities.
Wait and see if It Resolves with Time
Ears that stick out, called protuberant or protruding ear external ear abnormalities, can sometimes resolve with time—primarily those caused by a baby’s position in the womb.
From birth until about the 6th week of life, your baby has a large store of maternal estrogen, making the ears fairly pliable. Due to this, any changes to these external ear differences will likely happen in those first six weeks.
The challenge is: it’s impossible to identify immediately after birth which ear deformities will resolve with time, and which won’t.
If you wait it out and your baby’s ears don’t improve, your baby will either grow up with ears that stick out, or you could choose to pay a plastic surgeon to fix the ears when your baby is school-aged. In the meantime, your little one might be exposed to teasing or bullying by other children if the ear abnormality is pronounced. Sadly, this can affect your child’s tender self-esteem and can have a lasting effect. Some children can brush off this kind of teasing, but some can’t—we’re all made a little differently, aren’t we?
Elect to Remodel Your Baby’s Ears with EarWell
EarWell is The Best Known & Most Effective Non-Surgical Ear Deformity Solution. It was created by a Texas plastic surgeon several decades ago and has been applied to the ears of thousands of babies all over the world. 98% of those babies have perfect ears thanks to EarWell, which causes no pain, no injections, no surgery, nothing that pierces the skin on or around the ears. It’s applied in the EarWell provider’s office in less than an hour, changed out about every two weeks (because your baby’s skin sheds and hair growth make a new one necessary every couple of weeks). The entire EarWell treatment period is usually completed within 6-8 weeks. Your baby won’t even notice it.
Ear Molding with EarWell Must Be Done Very Soon After Birth
Remember reading above that your baby’s ears are very pliable during the first six weeks of life due to the stored estrogen in his or her system? Because the ears become less pliable as these estrogen stores deplete, EarWell must be applied as soon after birth as possible—preferably within the first 3 weeks.
Two More Benefits of EarWell
- You don’t have to guess whether your little one’s external ear abnormality is treatable: the EarWell provider will know.
- Your health insurance will probably cover it, including military health insurance and public insurance (i.e., Medicaid).
Ear Surgery Is the Third Option for Misshapen Ears
Your child can have external ear surgery around the age of 6 or 7, when the ears have reached near full growth. It’s a quick procedure but it does involve anesthesia, invasive surgery, dressings and recovery time, not to mention money. Insurance won’t cover an otoplasty because it’s deemed cosmetic.
We trust that this blog post has been informative. You can visit our EarWell Physician Page to find a specially trained EarWell physician near you. If you have more concerns or can’t find one, call us at 630-357-7374. EarWell is our only focus: to enable all babies to grow up with perfectly beautiful ears!