Having a conductive hearing loss is many times associated with a condition called Microtia. Even though this is not the actual cause of my hearing loss, I’ve met many wonderful people (adult and children) who wear a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid – BAHA due to this condition.
This piece is in honor of this special date:
November 9th, National Microtia Awareness Day.
Please take your time to learn, send love and support
to all the ones affected by it.
According to Stanford Children’s Health, Microtia is a congenital deformity of the outer ear where the ear does not fully develop during the first trimester of pregnancy. The word “microtia” means “little ear”, from the Latin words “micro” and “otia”. Microtia ears vary in appearance, and are usually smaller in size, often only consisting of a tiny peanut-shaped lobe. Microtia occurs about 1 in 5,000 births, though rates can vary depending on ethnic background. In 90% of cases, it affects only one ear, usually the right ear, and is more common in males. Microtia describes the outer ear, but is often associated with absence of the ear canal (called canal atresia or aural atresia), or an extremely narrow ear canal (canal stenosis).
