Ear moulding gives the best results when started in the first weeks after birth. The Earwell infant ear correction system is a non-surgical, painless, safe and effective treatment to correct common infant ear deformities.
To new parents, there’s nothing more perfect than their baby, from their tiny toes to every hair on their head! However, anywhere between 15 – 20% of parents will find their bundle of joy has what we call a folded ear or some degree of ear deformity. This is natural, however, and not a cause for alarm. Infant folded ear correction is a simple procedure known as ear moulding and can be started immediately with visible results.
Ear moulding is a treatment used during infancy to mould deformed ears into a normal shape. Ear moulding is a non-surgical, painless, safe alternative to surgery. Ear moulding has been applied to a variety of congenital ear deformities with excellent results.
Ear development begins from three to six weeks in the growing embryo, the external ear projection begins at four months. Folding of the delicate ear structures begins at the end of the six month of fetal development.
Infant ear cartilage is very soft and malleable. This is owed to the circulating maternal hormone, oestrogen, which peaks three days after birth and returns to baseline at six weeks. The oestrogen interacts with an enzyme, Hyaluronidase, that keeps the cartilage flexible.
During this privileged period, between birth and six weeks, ear deformities can be corrected permanently by moulding the ears into the correct shape. This saves your child from possibly needing more invasive plastic surgery later on to correct the deformity, and the unhappiness they may feel with their appearance if the deformity is not corrected. Ear moulding is not performed after 6 weeks of age.
