When our sweet little guy was born I noticed that his right ear had some extra cartilage. I wasn’t sure what to do at first and wondered if it would just go away on its own. Immediately, I went on google and discovered that this type of deformity wouldn’t just correct itself. I quickly discovered EarWells.
EarWell
It’s an infant Ear Correction System. The EarWell corrects many different types of deformities including Conchal Crus—what my son has.
The website has a physician search, so I found a local doctor here and made an appointment. This is where our EarWell experience begins:
She examined his ear and determined that he would be a good candidate. It was explained to me that it may not be corrected 100% but that it would be much better. She explained that the Conchal Crus deformity is harder to correct because it needs pressure to push the tissue down. Some of the other deformities require other methods.
Also, at the inner top of a person’s ear, it should have more of a “y” shape to it and his did not.
First Steps
The first thing that was done was have our little guy’s luscious locks shaved! He has SO much hair so they had to shave a small section around his ear so that the EarWell could adhere to his skin.
Next, the doctor fit the EarWell around his ear and positioned it just so. She then placed a silicone piece in the middle of his ear with a piece of foam on top and then placed the perforated screen over top to hold it into place.
I was sent home with an informational sheet that explains you need to keep it dry and avoid getting spit up in the EarWell. Unfortunately, while he was sleeping he spit up and got a ton of spit up inside. We had to remove it after just 24 hours. I couldn’t believe the difference after just that little bit of time!
Then the EarWell came loose a day later. We had to make another appointment to get a new one back on.
Keeping It Clean
Keeping the EarWell clean is challenging if you have a baby who spits up. About 4 days after he had the new one put on I started to notice a smell. I texted his doctor and she advised me to remove it.
We went back 3 days later for a new one to be put on. This one was a bit different. It was bigger in size allowing the bottom of the earlobe to stick out the bottom.
Skin Breakdown
His doctor had explained to us in the beginning that she would be checking for skin breakdown at each appointment.
During our 3rd appointment upon removing the EarWell, he did indeed have some skin breakdown. The doctor decided he needed to take a break for a few days and let it heal a little before continuing with his treatment.
We are amazed at how much his ear has changed in just a couple weeks with the EarWell on!
After the 5 day break, we had the EarWell put back on. The adhesive started coming off his skin just a few hours later. We kept trying to stick it back on but one morning he hit it with his hand and the whole thing came off.
After examining his ear I discovered more breakdown, some in the same spot on in conchal crus, but also behind his ear.
Custom Mold
After speaking with his doctor she decided that his little ear just wasn’t tolerating it well and she was going to try a custom mold. It puts less pressure on the ear.
She used a molding putty that is used for making hearing aids. She pressed it firmly onto his ear to get the shape of his ear. Then she added additional molding to where is conchal crus is. After letting the mold harden she reapplied it to his ear and secured it with tape.
After wearing this for a week without any improvement we went back to the EarWell.
Final EarWell
After another couple weeks with the EarWell we finally finished. The process honestly wasn’t easy at times, but we are very happy with the results. Here is a before and after of his ear.
