artificial ears for a boy without any ears

from news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7379594.stm

A boy born with no ears has had his hearing and appearance restored with the help of several operations and a set of artificial ears.



South Yorkshire schoolboy Joshua Bull was born with small misshapen flaps of skin for ears and blocked ear canals.

Implants in his skull enabled him to hear but doctors also fitted him with realistic plastic ears so he could avoid people staring in the street.

Around one in 7,000 children are born without at least one ear.

Joshua could hardly hear a thing and only pick up a noise if someone shouted loudly right next to him.

I can't believe how good they are

Joshua Bull

At the age of two years, he underwent the first of seven operations, starting with the insertion of a bone-anchored hearing aid into his skull.

The implant effectively bypasses his ear canal enabling him to hear.

His mother, Lesley, aged 39, told the Daily Mail: \"His little face and eyes lit up when it was put on, he could hear the birds sing for the first time.

\"He was well behind in his speech, but with this hearing aid it improved tremendously.\"

'Whispers'

However, as he grew older Joshua became more self-conscious about his appearance.

At school and in his home village of Moorends, South Yorkshire, his friends and neighbours treated him with kindness.

Mrs Bull, a care support worker, said when they went further afield to do some shopping or go swimming people would stare and whisper.

In October last year, Joshua received another hearing aid and was finally fitted with the prosthetic ears.

They attach to metal fixtures surgically embedded into the bone at the side of his head and can be put on and off as easily as glasses.

He will get new ears every six months until he is grown.

His mother says Joshua, who started secondary school last September, is excelling academically and speech is like that of an adult rather than someone who was born almost deaf.

\"I wouldn't say I was delighted with them, I am completely gobsmacked,\" Joshua said. \"I can't believe how good they are.\"

Mrs Bull added: \"He has been full of himself. All the staring has stopped. I could never imagine the ears could be so good.\"

Most children born with the same condition as Joshua have an ear missing on one side but sometimes both ears can be affected.

In some cases surgeons can recreate an ear using a small section of cartilage from the child's rib cage.

Brian Lamb, director of communications, at deaf and hard of hearing charity RNID said: \"It is great news that this operation means Joshua can now participate at school.

\"However, it remains crucial for deaf and hard of hearing children to get the specialist support needed and that teachers are aware of their learning needs, so they can achieve to the same level as everyone else.

\"There is still a long way to go for this to be a reality for the many children with hearing loss who cannot benefit from this type of operation.\"