“Can my condition be 100% fixed?”
I was born with a condition known as microtia. This affects my left ear where my canal is not developed. I hear well on my right ear but have no hearing on my left one. I know there is a surgery that a plastic surgeon can conduct where cartilage is utilized to make my affected ear look cosmetically normal. However, I was just wondering if there was a surgery that can be done to make my left ear function like my normal right one. My parents were told when I was originally born that there was nothing that could be done. I was just hoping that medicine has progressed enough where something can be done now.
Male | 20 years old
Complaint duration: 20 years
Medications: N/A
Conditions: Microtia
5 Answers
This depends on how much of your ear developed normally. 100 per cent normal is NOT attainable. The results of microtia surgery are most often disappointing, and for that reason most ENT's don't do it. You may want to consult a neuro-otologist, who is a sub-specialist that can advise you fully. Surgical results are generally iffy.
Absolutely there is something that can be done. You should see an otologist who will order a CT scan and maybe MRI. Then plan on several procedures to drill out your ear canal down to your eardrum. Based on what your middle ear ossicles (tiny bones in the middle ear) look like, you can regain some hearing, most likely helped with a hearing aid. The cosmetic operation done by a plastic surgeon just puts something on the side of your head which looks like an ear. . It does nothing to get hearing back. But an otologist can help you with that.
See ENT. Obtain audiogram to check hearing status of microtic ear. Depending on results, may be able to insert implant to improve hearing. Will need some imaging studies as well, e.g. MRI and Temporal Bone CT (thin cut). Hearing improvement would the goal. 100% is not achievable due to the middle ar and cochlear anatomy. The external auricular reconstruction has multiple stages. Again improvement is goal.
Hello,
The hearing can be improved with some difficult surgery, but not completely.
Dr. D
The hearing can be improved with some difficult surgery, but not completely.
Dr. D
That is a great question. The answer depends on whether or not your inner ear developed. To answer your question, you will need to see an otologist who will perform tests to see if the inner ear is present and if there is as chance of reconstructing the hearing or using a cochlear implant. At your age, if there has been no auditory input to your brain, it is likely that the part of your brain which would receive auditory information from that ear has not developed. The only way to answer these uncertainties is to get a medical work up from an otologist.
