Microtia:

Can my child hear out of this ear?

When children are born without an external ear, or ear canal, usually the inner one half of the ear is normally formed. This means that children can hear even though the outer ear is not present. If you stick your fingers in both ears, you can still hear. This is approximately how much a child can hear out of the affected side. Most children lose about 40-50% of their hearing if they don't have an ear canal with an eardrum. However, children seem to hear just fine because the other ear is not affected. The only problem that children with microtia may have is in localizing sound. Without the ability to hear in "stereo," children cannot tell where a sound, or someone calling their name, is without being able to see them.

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