I just discovered that the ears of my new born baby have no holes. All he has are the fleshy ear lobes. Although we have been referred to the Teaching Hospital for better care, I will appreciate it if you can let me know what could have caused this kind of problem and the chances of my baby to have good hearing in life.
Prince (by SMS)
The ear-related birth defect, where a baby is born without an external ear canal is known as atresia. The causes of Atresia among most infants are unknown. In some cases, Atresia occurs because of an abnormality in a single gene, which can cause a genetic syndrome. Your child may be a candidate for a procedure called atresioplasty, in which a surgeon will try to restore normal hearing by opening the ear canal. This is a very complex surgical procedure and it’s important to have it done by an experienced ear specialist, known as an otologist who fortunately, will be available in the Teaching Hospital to which he has been referred to.
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