About Melissa Tumblin

Lauren and Paxton Hoyal

Welcome to our newest Ear Community staff member! Meet Lauren Hoyal, Ear Community’s new Program Director!

Lauren is responsible for managing our organization’s events, advocacy outreach for hearing device donations and fundraising. Lauren and her family found Ear Community after her youngest son, Paxton, was born with microtia and atresia. The Hoyal Family has since then been involved with our organization as a picnic host family, advocating for Ally’s Act and have fundraised for our organization.

Lauren earned her Masters in Elementary Education from Valdosta State University where she taught 1st grade for three years before deciding to stay home with her beautiful daughter, Vada. Lauren also serves on the Thomaston Upson Arts Council Board of Directors where she is the Children’s Art Chair. She is also the Director of the Thomaston First Methodist Church Preschool. Lauren’s husband, Perry, is a firefighter and flight paramedic who saves lives everyday!

I am grateful for Lauren and Perry and their beautiful family! Lauren has become an incredible advocate for our community and a wonderful friend to me! Thank you for helping me serve our community through the work of our Ear Community Organization, Lauren!

Welcome aboard! I am lucky to have you!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
EarCommunity.org

The Ear Community announces it’s newest Board of Directors Member, Dr. Kripa Raman.

“We would like to welcome Dr. Kripa Raman to Ear Community’s Board of Directors, says Melissa Tumblin, Founder and Executive Director of the Ear Community Organization. I have had the honor of knowing Kripa over the past four years. She has already been doing incredible work in our community, helping make connections and advocate for our microtia and atresia families in the Ontario area and all over Canada! I am grateful for her help and her shared passion for helping our children as well as her dedication to our microtia and atresia community!”

Kripa is a mother to two boys in Ontario, Canada. Her oldest son, Jahnu, was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of his left ear. Currently he is unaided and thriving! Kripa has a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics from McMaster University. She works in pharmaceuticals leading health economic assessments to secure funding for new therapeutics. Her advanced scientific and healthcare background has been very helpful when navigating the Canadian health care system and advocating for her son. When she is not entertaining the boys, she is planning their next family trip, listening to an audiobook, or trying a new recipe.

Kripa has been the organizer behind the Ontario Ear Community picnic in both 2023 and 2025. For her, these events are all about connection. “Given the rarity of microtia, I felt quite lonely after the initial diagnosis. Balancing new motherhood with those
unknowns was a source of anxiety, but finding the Ear Community online gave me the connection I needed. The picnics are amazing since for many kids, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen little ears like their own. I want my son to know he belongs to a community, and seeing him meet others just like him is so special.”

Board Members for the Ear Community Organization consist of members of the community that include individuals who were born with microtia and aural atresia, family members and medical professionals. “It is important for our community to be informed of all options for microtia and aural atresia, says Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community. It is also important to hear from parents, like Kripa, and to see how her family journey with microtia and atresia is going. It is incredibly helpful for children and adults and their families to see what others in the community are doing regarding the decisions they make along the way on their journey. This is where advocates can play a big part in helping others understand decisions and choices and also to help give some perspective when talking with others in the same situation”.

“We are looking forward to Kripa joining our board,” said Ear Community Founder, Melissa Tumblin! Our community is made up of amazing advocates and role models and Kripa is already an amazing advocate in our community! We are honored to have her serve on our Board as she continues helping families and community members in Canada who have microtia and aural atresia!”
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

By: Quiver LegislationRadar
Dec. 9, 2025 

We have received text from S. 3400: Ally’s Act. This bill was received on 2025-12-09, and currently has 4 cosponsors.

Here is a short summary of the bill:

This bill, known as Ally’s Act, aims to enhance health insurance coverage related to hearing devices and systems by making specific requirements for group health plans and health insurance issuers. It seeks to ensure that individuals with hearing loss receive adequate support and services necessary for their auditory needs.

Key Provisions of the Bill

1. Coverage Requirements

The bill mandates that group health plans and health insurance issuers provide coverage for a variety of services and items related to auditory implant devices, including:

• Auditory implant devices (e.g., cochlear implants) and external sound processors.
• Maintenance of these devices.
• Upgrades or replacements of devices every five years.
• Adhesive adapters and softband headbands.
• Repairs of devices.
• A comprehensive hearing assessment.
• A preoperative medical assessment.
• Surgery related to the implantation of these devices.
• Postoperative medical visits and audiological visits for fitting and activation.
• Aural rehabilitation and treatment services as deemed necessary.

2. Financial Requirements and Treatment Limitations

The bill includes provisions to ensure that financial requirements and treatment limitations for the mandated services and items are not more restrictive than those applied to other medical and surgical benefits governed by the same health plans. Specifically:

• The cost-sharing requirements for these auditory services cannot be more onerous than those for other covered medical benefits.
• There must not be treatment limitations that are more restrictive than those that apply to other medical benefits covered by the plan.

3. Medical Necessity Review

Health plans are prohibited from denying or limiting coverage for any of the items or services identified in the bill that have been deemed medically necessary by a physician or qualified audiologist. This ensures that if a healthcare provider recommends a specific service or device, it will be covered under the health insurance plan.

4. Definition of Qualifying Individual

A ‘qualifying individual’ is defined in the bill as someone who has been determined by a physician or qualified audiologist to require an auditory implant device or external sound processor, based on criteria including degree of hearing loss.

Legislative Process

This bill has been introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for further consideration. It is set to take effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, if passed.

Relevant Companies

• WSO (Watsco, Inc.): As a leading distributor of HVAC equipment, Watsco could experience changes in market demand for hearing services due to this bill impacting health coverage.
• CSCO (Cisco Systems, Inc.): Involved in various technologies, including those relevant to audiology and telehealth, which might see increased utilization.
• ADBE (Adobe Inc.): As a provider of software solutions perhaps used in healthcare contexts, they might experience indirect impacts depending on the nature of compliance requirements with new regulations.

 Link to press release.

Meet Gael! Gael is eight years old and was born with unilateral microtia and aural atresia of his right ear. When Gael’s family recently moved to North Carolina, his mom, Alba, started noticing that he was not hearing everything. In between moments of him looking a little lost in conversation to questioning what she just said, she realized he was struggling with his hearing! Thankfully, because Gael is old enough to communicate,  he was able to speak up about his hearing loss along with his mom paying attention to what Gael was missing out on and realizing what he needed. While trying out a loaner Baha (bone anchored hearing aid) through his audiologist at the UNC Medical Center Pediatric Audiology Department, both Gael and his mom realized how much better he could hear while wearing the Baha! Moving forward, when inquiring about obtaining a Baha of his own, Gael’s family realized they could not afford the cost of a bone anchored hearing device that could help him hear better. That’s when the audiology team over at UNC Health came together to help Gael find a way to hear!

Dr. Molly Widney of UNC Health, along with Ellie McIntosh – Audiology Extern at UNC Health and Dr. Shannon Culbertson – also of UNC Health and a Board Member for the Ear Community Organization, knew there was a way to help Gael hear! Together, they submitted an application to help Gael obtain a Cochlear Americas Baha 7 through the Ear Community Organization! In addition, Julie and Danny Evans wanted to help give back to our community when there was an opportunity for a child who needed help with a hearing device. I remember having a conversation with Julie at our Ear Community/Vanderbilt event in Nashville this summer about what happens when a child cannot afford a hearing device or is denied coverage by their insurance provider and I sadly explained that they often have to go without. Julie and Danny’s son, Asher, was born with bilateral microtia and atresia and even though their son has two hearing devices that help him hear, they couldn’t imagine another child having to do without. On National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day, the Evans Family made a donation to our organization that would help cover Gael’s fitting and programming fee for his newly donated Baha 7! Together, Gael’s audiology team, Cochlear Americas and the Evans Family were able to all help together and give back!

On Tuesday, December 16th, 2025, Gael was able to receive the gift of hearing with his NEW Baha 7 thanks to the help of Cochlear Americas, his audiology team working together and the donation to our organization thanks to the Evans Family! In addition to receiving a the donated Baha 7, the Ear Community Organization also helped cover some of the cost of Gael’s fitting and programming! Thanks to programs like Pax’s Ear Fund that our organization has in place, to ensure that bone anchored hearing devices can still be programmed even if a family cannot afford the fitting fee or in the event insurance denies coverage for this service through audiology. Recipients can still receive the gift of hearing!

When a child receives the gift of hearing, it truly is a miracle. Otherwise, children and adults end up having to do without, continuing to struggle to hear and missing out on conversations like Gael was. Hearing loss is also a safety issue when someone cannot hear well. Just in time for Christmas, Gael was able to receive the gift of hearing, which was such a needed miracle that will allow him to hear better in the school classroom and thrive in his community along with no more parts of conversations missed!

Without helpful resources and organizations that are here to help, Gael might still be struggling to hear if it weren’t for the joint effort of his mom and his audiology team at UNC Health, reaching out to our Ear Community through Pax’s Ear Fund and for the help of the Evans’ family wanting to sponsor a child like their son, Asher – another child is able to hear!  It just takes one person to search for a way to help or to know what helpful resources might exist to help others. Thank you so much to Dr. Molly Widney, Ellie McIntosh and Dr. Shannon Culbertson for knowing where to find help for Gael! Thank you to Keesha Pfeiffer, Manager Health Policy Strategy and Advocacy at Cochlear Americas, for helping Gael receive a NEW Baha 7 just in time for Christmas and to Cochlear Americas for partnering with nonprofit organizations like the Ear Community to help give back to the microtia and atresia community! “Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, and has provided more than 750,000 implantable devices – more than any other company – helping people of all ages to hear and connect with life’s opportunities.” Since 2011, Cochlear Americas is a proud Platinum Sponsor to the Ear Community Organization, helping the microtia and atresia community. Thank you Cochlear Americas for being a leading company behind the hearing device technology that helps children like Gael benefit when it comes to restoring hearing loss! Children and adults with microtia and atresia can only benefit from the use of a bone conduction hearing device because of specific related conductive hearing loss. Thank you to the Evans Family for being a part of our beautiful community with their son and for wanting to help give back to another child in need who has microtia and atresia! A special thank you to the William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation and to Peter Stengaard for funding Pax’s Ear Fund to help give the gift of hearing when fittings and programmings are not covered by insurance or simply cannot be paid for. Pax’s Ear Fund was established because of a sweet little boy named Pax who believes in helping other children in our community just like him! This year, Pax’s Ear Fund was able to help nine children and adults receive the gift of hearing through our Ear Community Organization! Thank you so much for all of this incredible support to our Ear Community and to the microtia and atresia community!

We are so happy for Gael to be hearing his best and we are grateful for so many reaching out to help him receive the gift of hearing during the holidays this year!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible for Gael! Below are some images of Gael receiving his NEW Baha 7 and enjoying his new koala bear friend and also of Julie Evans and her son, Asher. Thank you for giving back!
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community

December 4, 2025
MED-EL USA

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MED-EL USA announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an expanded indication for MED-EL cochlear implants for children seven months and older with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). This approval makes MED-EL’s cochlear implant system the first and only FDA-approved option for infants this young, enabling earlier access to sound and crucial stages of speech and language development.

“Giving infants the opportunity to hear early in life is critical to maximizing the development of hearing and spoken language. It is extremely gratifying to have led this clinical trial demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of the latest implant technology for children as young as seven months. My hope is this will mean more children will experience the gift of sound soon after birth,” said Nancy M. Young, M.D., Lillian S. Wells Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology and Medical Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

The expanded FDA indication also broadens audiologic and speech criteria for children aged 12 months and older, providing the widest pediatric eligibility of any hearing implant manufacturer.

“Many children with significant hearing loss use hearing aids but cannot hear all the sounds essential for understanding spoken language. They must work so much harder than their hearing peers. Expanding the eligibility of these children for cochlear implantation is so important to improving their hearing, language, literacy, and quality of life” 

–Nancy M. Young, M.D.

“This is an incredible step forward for families with young children with hearing loss,” said John Sparacio, President and CEO of MED-EL USA. “Giving children access to sound as early as possible can make a world of difference for their future. We are committed to giving every child the best possible start in life through our closest to natural hearing philosophy paired with our advancements in safety and technology.”

Key Data Highlights

• An FDA study in two groups of children found MED-EL cochlear implants to be safe and effective for ages seven to 71 months with bilateral SNHL who do not receive sufficient benefit from hearing aids.
• Among 123 children, 110 showed clinical success within the first year, including 81% in one study group and 88% in the other.
• Major complication rates were low in both groups, and children implanted under 12 months did not experience higher complication rates than older children.
• A post-approval study will collect additional data from children implanted between seven months and 17 years, 11 months who meet the new labeling criteria.

For more information about MED-EL cochlear implants, visit www.medel.com.

About MED-EL

Medical Electronics (MED-EL) is a global leader in implantable hearing solutions, driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. Founded in Austria by Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair—whose early research led to the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant in 1977—MED-EL has grown to more than 3,000 employees representing around 90 nationalities across 30 locations worldwide.

Today, MED-EL offers the broadest portfolio of implantable and non-implantable hearing solutions, supporting people in 139 countries. Its technologies include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, electric acoustic stimulation systems, and both surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. Learn more at www.medel.com.

The Hearing Matters Podcast with Blaise Delfino aired today, December 3rd, 2025, sharing my story about advocacy for Ally and the Ear Community Organization as well as our push for Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 to pass!

“NEW Hearing Matters Podcast episode featuring Melissa Tumblin, Founder of EarCommunity.org. The link to the full conversation will in the comment section.

A birth surprise. A scramble for answers. And a mother who refused to accept “good enough” when her daughter’s hearing, and future, were on the line.

We sit down with EarCommunity.org founder Melissa Tumblin to unpack microtia, aural atresia, and the real costs of unilateral hearing loss that too often go unseen: delayed speech, safety risks, and the daily strain of listening with one ear in a noisy world.

When a child is born with microtia and aural atresia, parents often face shock, sparse answers, and a maze of decisions during the most vulnerable days of early life. That was Melissa’s reality when her daughter Ally arrived without a fully formed outer ear and with associated conductive hearing loss.

What began as a search for clarity soon became the foundation for EarCommunity.org, a hub that connects families with hearing care professionals and offers practical guidance on hearing devices, speech development, and school accommodations. This story reveals how a single family’s question—why is medically necessary hearing technology so hard to access—can grow into an organized push for equity in hearing health care.”

Thank you so much to Blaise for inviting me on the Hearing Matters Podcast! Ally and I appreciate you sharing our story of advocacy for the microtia and aural atresia community and why the Ear Community Organization was needed for families like ours! We hope Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 passes someday soon so the children and adults who require the use of bone anchored hearing devices and cochlear implants can have better access to hearing! After all, these are the only hearing devices they can benefit from as a traditional hearing aid can’t help us.

Here is the link to the episode.
Apple podcast link to the episode.
Spotify podcast link to the episode.

Thank you again! ❤️👂
Melissa and Ally Tumblin
Ear Community

MED-EL USA announces the launch of the 2026 IDEASforEARS children’s invention contest

November 9, 2025 – (Innsbruck, Austria): Every great idea starts with curiosity – and sometimes, even the youngest minds can imagine new ways to make life easier for people with hearing loss. MED-EL, a world leader in hearing implant innovation, is calling on young visionaries aged 6 to 12 to take center stage in the 2026 IDEASforEARS contest. This global challenge enables children to dream up creative solutions that could change the lives of people with hearing loss – proving that age is no barrier to making a difference.

November 9^th is National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day, dedicated to spreading hope & knowledge concerning a rare congenital anomaly known as Microtia & Aural Atresia – when the ears do not fully develop during the 1st trimester of pregnancy. Microtia derives its name from the Latin terms for little ears or missing ears. Aural Atresia results when the ear canals are underdeveloped or absent, causing hearing loss. 1 out of every 6,000 children is born with Microtia & Aural Atresia in the United States (approximately 600 babies are born each year in the US).

It is the intention of Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day to help promote public awareness & the hope that future generations of families will leave the hospital equipped with more answers than questions & their dreams for the child intact. It is also the hope that if more people learn about Microtia & Atresia, that they will be kinder & more accepting. Through this national day of awareness, individuals with Microtia & Atresia & their families can find out about organizations & resources for information & support.

Microtia and Atresia can affect one or both ears.
Microtia can occur with or without Atresia and visa versa.
Microtia affects the right ear 2x more than the left ear.
Microtia affects boys 2x as often as girls.
Bilateral microtia and atresia occurs around 7-22% of the time.

Many individuals affected by Microtia and Atresia can also have Craniofacial Microsomia – when the jaw line is asymmetrical on one side causing oral complications, including causing the skull, eye and mouth on one side to be smaller or underdeveloped when compared to the non affected side. Craniofacial Microsomia is also known as Hemifacial Microsomia.

African Americans are the least affected by Microtia and Atresia, while Ecuadorians, Hispanic/Latino, Asian and Native American ethnicities are affected more often.

There are (4) grades of Microtia and Aural Atresia:
While there is little understanding of what causes Microtia and Atresia, there are new genetic findings that show damaging genetic variants may cause Microtia and Atresia and Craniofacial Microsomia. The Ear Community Organization didn’t want another mother to ever blame herself, thinking she did something to cause her child’s ears to be missing during her pregnancy. These new findings can be found on Ear Community’s website, here, including additional research information.

Children and adults who have Microtia and Aural Atresia are beautiful and perfect in every way and should never let their hearing loss or underdeveloped ear(s) define them. However, if an individual with Microtia and Atresia believes that outer ear reconstruction or hearing restoration surgery would give them the happiness they long for, it is important to be informed of the following options:
1. The Do Nothing Option.

2. Reconstructive surgery:
a. Rib Graft surgery – an ear framework that is stitched from sections of rib (gold standard surgical technique).
b. Porous polyethylene surgery – known as a preshaped ear framework referred to as Medpor, SuPor or OMNIPORE.
c. Craniofacial surgery that can help make the jaw and face symmetrical. Jaw distraction is also an option. Polyethylene implants for the chin and cheeks are an option as well as botox. A craniofacial team/plastic surgeon can review these options with you.

3. Prosthetic ear (which looks incredibly realistic).

4. Atresiaplasty/Canalplasty – when a hole is drilled into the skull, creating an area for an ear canal that is lined with a skin graft as well as creating the possibility of the middle ear bones being tweaked offering an improved hearing range.

5. Bone Anchored Hearing Devices/Bone Conduction Implant Systems – these are specific bone conduction systems that aid conductive hearing loss and are often the only specialized hearing devices individuals with Microtia and Aural Atresia can benefit from due to missing ears.

Bone Anchored Hearing Device options:
The Cochlear Baha and Osia System
The Oticon Medical Ponto and Sentio System
The MED-EL ADHEAR and BONEBRIDGE System

The Ear Community Organization is the first parent driven nonprofit organization to help Microtia and Atresia families, specifically, as well as having paved the way for this community since 2010.

How has Ear Community given back to the Microtia and Atresia community?
– offered the first comprehensive online resource for information on Microtia and Atresia in one place in multiple languages.
– hosted over 130 FREE events throughout the United States as well as in Denmark, South Africa, Spain, the UK, Australia and multiples in Canada bringing together thousands of families and medical professionals.
– donated nearly 200 bone anchored hearing devices to those in need or who have been denied by their insurers.
– awarded 35 college scholarships.
– established “National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day”. Our awareness day has a Resolution in place that would designate November 9th on the government calendar.
– championed genetic research on Microtia and Atresia with published results.
– has Federal legislation introduced, known as Ally’s Act, that would ensure private insurance coverage for Bone Anchored Hearing Devices and Cochlear Implants for children and adults from birth to age 64.
– 3D Printed/Regenerated ears – collaborating with clinical trials.

On National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day, many medical professionals host clinics and educate online about Microtia and Atresia through social media. Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as well as families educate and advocate in the school classroom, sharing about hearing loss and Microtia as well as discussing differences, acceptance and being kind. Many choose to read from related books on Microtia and hearing loss while others bring in treats such as cupcakes and cookies in the shape of ears or with the blue Microtia and Atresia awareness ribbon on them. Many classrooms get creative with coloring pages of Microtia ribbons that are printed for anyone to color in!

Medical professionals to consider reaching out for information regarding help with Microtia and Aural Atresia:
Neonatologist, pediatrician, ENT, audiologist, craniofacial team (plastic surgeon and oral surgeon), pediatric dentist, opthalmologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, anaplastologist, geneticist, psychologist/counselor or developmental specialist.
* some children have additional syndromes associated with Microtia and Atresia who can benefit from additional specialists listed above.

Did you know that animals can also be born with Microtia and Atresia?

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#microtiaawarenessday  #atresiaawarenessday
#microtiakidsrock  #EarCommunity  #luckyears #microtia #atresia
www.EarCommunity.org