2017 Ear Community Microtia and Atresia Summer Family Picnics

Ear Community hosts picnics every year around the world helping bring Microtia and Atresia families together.  This year’s picnics will take place in the United States in Annapolis, Maryland/ Austin, Texas/ Broomfield, Colorado/ Nashville, Tennessee/ Ardsley, New York/ and Fort Pierce, Florida!  It is very exciting for many families! Everyone enjoys attending our picnics and our Ear Community picnics always offer such a wonderful opportunity for Microtia and Atresia families to come together, share experiences with each other, and maybe even make a new friend.  Medical professionals such as world renown Microtia and Atresia repair surgeons, anaplastologists, ENTs, audiologists, and therapists along with the world’s leading hearing device and medical device companies all come together to mingle with us at our picnics, helping educate us on all of our options including hearing loss.

We look forward to seeing you at our Ear Community picnics this year!

Melissa Tumblin,
Founder and Executive Director of Ear Community
Founder of the Microtia and Atresia Support Group on Facebook

2017 Ear Community Picnics

Maryland Ear Community Picnic
Annapolis, Maryland
Date:  Saturday June 10th, 2017
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  AnnapolisEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

Texas Ear Community Picnic
Austin, Texas
Date:  Saturday, June 10th, 2017
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  AustinEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

Colorado Ear Community Picnic
Broomfield, Colorado
Date:  Saturday June 24th, 2017
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Melissa at:  ColoradoMicrotia@hotmail.com

New York Ear Community Picnic
Ardsley, New York
Date:  Saturday, July 22nd, 2017
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  ArdsleyEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

Florida Ear Community Picnic
Fort Pierce, Florida
Date:  Saturday, July 22nd, 2017
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  FortPierceEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

Tennessee Ear Community Picnic
Nashville, Tennessee
Date:  Saturday, July 22nd, 2017
Time:  1PM to 5PM
RSVP to Melissa at:  TennesseeEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

*  This Ear Community picnic will be in collaboration with a FREE surgeon conference that will take place at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  This conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn about all of your options for Microtia and Atresia and again…it is FREE to Microtia and Atresia families as Vanderbilt University and Children’s Hospital is a nonprofit organization.
Our collaborative event will begin at 8:30AM – 5:00PM with educational presentations by:

– Ron Eavey MD SM Director, Professor and Chair for Research and Causes of Congenital Ear Malformation, Vanderbilt
– Scott Stephan MD Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery Medpor, Vanderbilt
– Sivakumar Chinnadurai MD MPH Pediatric Otolaryngology Rig Graft, Vanderbilt
– Alejandro Rivas MD Neuro-otology Hearing Restoration in Aural Atresia, Vanderbilt
– Margaret McRedmond Au.D. CCC-A Audiology, Vanderbilt
– Scott Fiscus B.C.O.,  Anaplastology Ear Prosthesis, Nashville, TN
– Parent Panel
*  A delicious lunch will be provided as we kick off our Ear Community picnic along with a face painter, balloon artist, and magician.  We look forward to seeing everyone at our event.  A special thank you to Vanderbilt Medical Center and Dr. Ron Eavey for making this event possible with Ear Community.  Please join us for an amazing day!

National Microtia Awareness Day Ribbon for Ear Community Organization – November 9th, 2017.

Annual National Microtia Awareness Day
Throughout the United States and anywhere wishing to celebrate with all of us!
November 9th, 2017
To hear all about our amazing first National Microtia Awareness Day, please click here…
Click here for our press release…
Click here for an interview with AudiologyOnline about National Microtia Awareness Day…
Click here for our radio commercial for raising awareness about Microtia and Atresia…
Coming soon….click (here) anytime during the year to order official National Microtia Awareness t-shirts…
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATED OUR FIRST NATIONAL MICROTIA AWARENESS DAY ON NOVEMBER 9TH, 2016, WITH ALL OF US HERE AT THE EAR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING ALL WHO ALSO CELEBRATED WITH US IN OTHER COUNTRIES ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!  This day was SO amazing and so very special to so many of us, everywhere!

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Austin, Texas (USA)
June 10th, 2017

On Saturday, June 10th, 2017 Ear Community hosted its other first Microtia and Atresia family picnic in sunny Austin, Texas.  This was our fourth Ear Community picnic hosted in the great state of Texas since 2012! Our picnic hosts were Misty, Josh, and Aubrey Haver. Misty drove an hour out of her way every time she scouted picnic locations in order to find the perfect park location for our Austin picnic (Misty and her family do not live in Austin, but just outside of the city).  Misty worked tirelessly to make sure it was a very special and fun day for the families that attended. Misty and her husband, Josh, found Ear Community after their daughter, Aubrey was born with Microtia and Atresia.  Since 2013, Misty learned all that she could regarding options for Microtia and Atresi through Ear Community’s website and our support groups.  Since then, her daughter Aubrey has had both Medpor surgery for a big girl ear and canalplasty so she can hear better!  Misty has become a wonderful friend to Melissa Tumblin, Ear Community’s founder, over the years and both Misty’s daughter, Aubrey, and Melissa’s daughter, Ally resemble each other.  The two moms have enjoyed talking about their beautiful daughters over the years and are so proud of the beautiful and confident little girls they are becoming.

We had about 160 people join us on our special day. We had families attend from Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming just to name a few.  The kids had a wonderful time getting their faces and arms painted as well as playing with some fun balloon art! We also had a magician who entertained the kids and made them laugh. Misty had brought some extra fun things for the kids to play with, like a swimming pool full of bubbles for them to blow bubbles with.  Families were able to mingle with each other and share their experiences and let the kids play with each other.  With Ear Community’s funds for our picnic, Misty helped make our day by ordering two super cute cakes that said, “Microtia Kids Rock” on them for the families to enjoy.  We also had one of our attendees, Jamela Reifsnyder, who is a classically trained soprano who tried on hearing devices and sang with her beautiful voice so she could get the full affect of trying on a bone anchored hearing system.

Families who attended our picnic were able to learn about all of their options for Microtia and Atresia from the leaders in the medical community (thank you to Dell Children’s Hospital plastic surgery center for being a part of our special day and educating families about options for Microtia and Atresia). Everyone who attended was given the opportunity to try on the latest in bone anchored hearing devices from Cochlear Americas, Medtronic, and Oticon Medical. Thank you to Stryker CMF for helping educate families about Medpor and also to Poriferous, LLC for educating about Su-Por.  We also had Colette Shrader, an anaplastologist from Personalized Prosthetics, join us to help families learn more about prosthetic ears.   Thank you to James Hermsen from Spokiez glasses for helping educate families about his amazing eyewear for children who do not have ears.  Thank you also to Eleshea Martin of Baha Headbands for bringing some give-a-ways for families at our picnic.  Thank you to everyone for coming and supporting Ear Community and for sharing your experiences with all of us and knowing that you are not alone!

We would like to say a very special thank you to our sponsors because without their support, Ear Community would not be able to host our wonderful picnics for all of these beautiful Microtia and Atresia families.  Thank you to Cochlear Americas, our Platinum Sponsor!  Thank you to Oticon Medical, our Gold Sponsor!  Thank you to Medtronic, our Silver Sponsor!  Thank you to Stryker CMF (Medpor) and Poriferous, LLC. (Su-Por) for helping make our special day possible and a little more fun for everyone!  Thank you to Kevin Goldstein of Far End Gear for donating the One Good Ear Buds so individuals who have one ear do not have to tie off or cut off the second cord that most ear buds have!  hat were donated to Ear Community and given away to families at our picnic. Thank you to the medical professionals who attended and educated us on our special day and help everyone learn about the facts.  Thank you to Misty Haver for donating a couple of stuffed Nemo’s for the kids at our picnic and thank you to Heidi Jeffs (Events Manager for Ear Community) for donating two books from Usborne books to some lucky kiddos to help keep their reading skills up during the summer break!

A very special thank you to our picnic hosts Misty, Josh, and Aubrey Haver for hosting our Ear Community picnic. Misty worked so so hard to make this picnic one to remember. Thank you for doing so much and for helping give back to these families in your community in Austin, with the Ear Community Organization.  Misty is one of our “Moms on a mission” and she has gone above and beyond every time when helping Ear Community and the families in her area.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of our community, Misty.

Here are some fun memories from our Austin, TX Ear Community picnic:

Annapolis, Maryland
June 10th, 2017

On Saturday, June 10th, Ear Community hosted it’s second Microtia and Atresia family picnic in the state of Maryland.  Our picnic took place in Annapolis where nearly 200 people joined us on a beautiful sunny day with their families.  Kevin and Katie McKay, with their children Olivia and Reese, hosted our beautiful picnic.  The McKay family have been members of the Ear Community Organization since 2012 and have become wonderful friends to Melissa Tumblin, Ear Community’s founder.  Sometimes, life throws some unexpected curve balls in our lives…  In support of Kevin McKay, the Tumblin Family wore their #KevinStrong t-shirts to support Kevin in his fight against brain cancer.  The McKay family is truly amazing and an inspiration to Melissa and her family as Kevin had his second brain surgery just one and a half weeks out from our picnic day taking place and Kevin still wanted to host our special day along with his family for the Ear Community Organization.  Kevin spoke about how much Ear Community means to him and to his wife, Katie.  Katie is thankful for finding Ear Community because our organization helped her deal with postpartum depression when her daughter was born with Microtia and Atresia.  Today, the family knows about all of their options and little Olivia is a confident little girl who is happy with her little ear.  Thank you to the  McKay family for all of their hard work helping make sure our special day took place and for doing all of this for the Ear Community Organization even while supporting Kevin in his fight against cancer and organizing fund raisers for the Race for the Cure and 5k walk/runs that Katie, Kevin’s wife, organized to support her husband.  Thank you for showing all of us the meaning of life and to enjoy every day to its fullest.  We will continue to pray for You, Kevin, and your family.  We are forever grateful for your family to be a part of our special day in Maryland.

Melissa Tumblin and her family (husband – Brent, and daughters, Hailey and Ally) attended our Annapolis picnic enjoying meeting the many families that they get to know and help through the organization’s online support groups, e-mail, and over the phone.  Families joined us on our special day from many surrounding states including Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Virginia and West Virginia just to name a few. The kids had a wonderful time getting their faces painted and interacting with the magician! Families mingled with each other and shared their experiences and let the kids play with each other.  This was a special day for our children, a day where there were no stares and everyone looked the same because we are all in the same situation with Microtia and Atresia.  There were lots of families who attended our Maryland picnic too who enjoy traveling to our other Ear Community picnics.  Thank you for the amazing support from all of these families and it is always great to see smiling and familiar faces at the picnics the Tumblin family attend.

Families who attended our picnic learned about all their options for Microtia and Atresia through the organization.  Everyone who attended was given the opportunity to try on the latest in bone anchored hearing devices from Cochlear Americas, Medtronic, and Oticon Medical.  Families were given the opportunity to learn more about Medpor, thanks to Stryker CMF and Su-Por, thanks to Poriferous, LLC.  Dr. Angelo Leto Barone and Dr. Maria Chicco from Johns Hopkins also joined us on behalf of the plastic surgery center at Johns Hopkins for Microtia and Atresia.  Families at our Maryland picnic were also given the unique opportunity to learn about a newly devised product that Dr. Angelo Leto Barone has been working on to help shape consistent looking rib graft ears that was created by his company he co-founded called Auryzon (part of ReconstratA).  We also had Spokiz eyewear on site offering eye glasses that can be worn over the head for children who do not have ears.  Thank you to Kevin Goldstein of Far End Gear for donating free One Good Ear Buds at our picnic so families with one ear can enjoy listening to music with one ear and not have to tie off the second ear bud.  Thank you to Jim McGlone and his wife Sheila and also Dr. Pamela Foulds for attending our Maryland picnic.  Jim and Dr. Foulds work for a biomedical company that specializes in 3D printing and stem cell technology research.

During our Annapolis Ear Community picnic, Melissa Tumblin made some very exciting announcements about what the organization is working on.  Melissa Tumblin announced the collaborative work she is involved with regarding a genetic study that is being worked on with Harvard University and Vanderbilt University thanks to Dr. Roland Eavey and Dr. Jonathan Seidman (the first two doctors to publish a paper about the first Microtia gene over 20 years ago).  Families who attended the picnic were given the opportunity to sign up for the genetics study.  Also, in celebrating our 2^nd Annual National Microtia Awareness Day for Ear Community, Melissa announced that the organization now has Microtia awareness items (such as ribbons and jewelry) to help raise awareness about Microtia and Atresia and as a fund raiser to the organization.  Ear Community’s awareness items were very popular at the picnic and we are excited to see everyone wear them on our National Microtia Awareness Day this November 9^th!   We also announced some of Ear Community Organization’s Baha recipients who have been awarded a new hearing device thanks to the help of Cochlear Americas and Oticon Medical.

We would like to thank Cochlear Americas for being our Premium Platinum Sponsor for this year’s Ear Community Microtia and Atresia picnics!  A special thank you to  Oticon Medical for being our organization’s Gold Sponsor and to Medtronic for being our organization’s Silver Sponsor!  Thank you to Stryker CMF (Medpor) and Poriferous, LLC (Su-Por) for also helping make our picnic day so special and fun for all of these beautiful families!   Thank you to the medical professionals who could be with us on our special day and help everyone learn about the facts about Microtia and Atresia.  Thank you to our sponsors who donated lots of giveaway items (super hero capes, bubbles, stuffed animals, soft band head bands, hearing aid drying kits, and more)!  Thank you to Heidi Jeffs (Events Manager for Ear Community) for raising money to donate some great children’s books for the kids at our picnic through Usborne books!

A very special thank you again to the McKay Family for hosting our Annapolis, Maryland picnic!  Katie McKay….I know you were the driving force behind getting all of this done for these families and all of us will forever be thankful for our special day that You and Kevin and the kids helped bring together and give back to in your community on June 10^th!  Thank you for all that you do for the Ear Community Organization and for the support you give to Ear Community to help our nonprofit continue going to help other Microtia and Atresia families!  We are thankful more than you will ever know!

Here are some fun memories from our Annapolis, MD Ear Community picnic:

Broomfield, Colorado
June 24th, 2017

Our 6th Annual Colorado Ear Community Microtia and Atresia Picnic took place in Broomfield, CO on a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday, June 24th.  Families commented on how beautiful the view was of the Boulder Flatirons and foothills on the drive to our beautiful park location in Broomfield.  Our head quarter picnic was hosted by Audra, Illiana, and Lorenzo Molina and Melissa, Brent, Hailey, and Alyssa Tumblin.  This was the second year that the Molina family helped the Tumblin family co-host our picnic.  The Molina’s daughter, Illiana, was able to meet Dr. Sheryl Lewin at our Ear Community picnic held three years ago and since then, Illiana has two beautiful Medpor ears and is aided with the Cochlear Baha 5 Attract hearing device.  The Molina’s have come a long way since discovering Ear Community and the help that the organization can provide.  Illiana also goes to the same elementary school that Alyssa Tumblin goes to and the two girls have since become friends.  Heidi Jeffs and Kristen Hale (Ear Community Board of Director members) joined us at our picnic in Colorado.  We also had some Ear Community hearing device recipients join us at our picnic.  This picnic has brought together more families who have become friends, including the friendship that has developed between the Molina and Tumblin families.

We had about 250 people RSVP for an incredibly fun day.  We had families join us from Colorado, Idaho, Virginia, Wyoming, North Dakota, and New Mexico.  The kids hula hooped, played catch with Nerf footballs, and enjoyed getting their faces painted and sported some amazing balloon art!  Magic Rob put on a great magic show for the kids and the kids got to pet the magic bunny too!   Magic Rob has been our magician for the past few years and he also has hearing loss…so, he is the perfect magician for us!  Chick-fil-A provided a delicious lunch once again for all of us to enjoy.  The Chick-fil-A cow also joined us and handed out mini moos to each child and helped play corn hole with families.

We had some special moments take place at our picnic in Colorado this year.  The Karate studio, The Dojo of Karate, came and performed some really great forms and other exercises using nunchucks and got to participate in a mini-class where they learned how to block, punch, kick and jump-kick!  It was a great time all around.  Ear Community was also able to roll out some exciting products that support Microtia and Atresia Awareness.  We had car decals and ribbon pendants that were hand made by Elizabeth Bunting who has a granddaughter who was born with Microtia and Atresia.  Elizabeth not only makes many of the same lapel brooches and car decals for other nonprofit organization such as the American Pancreatic Association and the Lupus Foundation and some of the NFL teams, but she also puts the bling into the Dallas Cowboy cheerleader uniforms (the same bling that is in our awareness ribbons).  So, we were happy to keep it in the family on those products and her daughter and granddaughter are members of our Ear Community Organization too!  We also had some beautiful hand-made bracelets that are made by Ear Community’s founder, Melissa Tumblin, that have adorable ear charms on them, and the official “Microtia blue” in Swarovski crystal.  There were three different styles to choose from, and many of the families couldn’t wait to get some for themselves and loved ones.

A very special thank you to our amazing sponsors!  Without our sponsors, we would not be able to have our amazing picnics!  Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor- Cochlear Americas, our Gold Sponsor – Oticon Medical, and our Silver Sponsor – Medtronic.  Thank you also to Stryker CMF (Medpor) and Poriferous, LLC. (Su-Por) for helping make our day special too!  Thank you for helping educate families on how they can help their loved ones with hearing loss through the use of a Baha 5, Ponto 3 Superpower, and Alpha MDO.  Thank you Oticon Medical for raffling off three of your amazing gift baskets that featured Massie the bear stuffed monkey who wears the Ponto!  Our winners of Massie bears just loved them!  A special thank you to Stryker CMF for helping educate families about Medpor!  We also had some eye glass samples from Spokiz too that are made for kids without ears.

Thank you to Kevin Goldstein of Far End Gear for donating 165 single ear buds for families to have.  Thank you to Jeremy Martin at Eldorado Springs for donating (6) five gallon bottles of natural Colorado spring water with hand pumps for all of us to enjoy at our picnic and so no one would go thirsty!    Thank you to Patrick and Carter at the Costco in Thornton, CO for donating gift cards that we used toward the purchase of juice boxes for the kids at our picnic.  Thank you also to Lyndsie Strange of The Fox Wears Camo for joining us at our picnic and donating some cute shirts!  Thank you to Heidi Jeffs for donating 4 children’s books that she raised through book club!

As always, it is always so nice to see so many family faces that have been helped by Ear Community over the years.  Can’t wait to see everyone again soon at our next picnic.

Here are some special memories from our special day!

Ardsley, New York
July 22nd, 2017

Ear Community was thrilled to hold our 2^nd Annual Microtia and Atresia picnic in Ardsley, NY at V.E. Macy Park on Saturday, July 22nd, 2017. What a beautiful day it was! We had nearly 130 people come together to share experiences about Microtia and Atresia and learn about all of their options. A special thank you to Lauren and Scott Bittman and their beautiful daughters, Allie and Hannah, for being our picnic hosts. The Bittman family found our Ear Community Organization five years ago and were even at our first NY Ear Community picnic that was heldin Yonkers.

Allie was born with Microtia and Atresia of both ears and since then has had Medpor with Dr. John Reinisch and Canalplasty with Dr. Joseph Roberson and doing great! The Bittman family is happy to reach out to anyone who may have questions about Allie’s surgery and their experience on their big girl ear journey. Since 2012, the Bittman Family has traveled to many of our Ear Community picnics over the years and did an incredible job hosting this year’s New York picnic!

Since Allie has had her hearing loss restored through canalplasty and outer ear reconstruction with Medpor, she couldn’t be happier and loves sharing with others her journey to getting big girl ears! This is why it is so wonderful to attend our Ear Community picnics because families are given the opportunity to speak with picnic hosts and see what decisions they have made along their journey with Microtia and Atresia. The Bittman’s have also been long time donors to the Ear Community Organization over the years because they love what Ear Community does for Microtia and Atresia families.

The kids had so much fun getting their faces painted and getting fun balloon animals. We also had a great magician, Jocko, who entertained everyone with a wonderful magic show! A delicious lunch was provided through Costco and families had a great time getting to connect with one another. Ear Community was able to give away two Usborne books that were donated through a community member, to two lucky kids – we hope they have fun reading them!

Ear Community picnics offer a chance for families to talk to one another about experiences they are dealing with, to know they aren’t alone, and to see other children with little ears. The picnics are a chance to celebrate the community we have, and to learn from top medical professionals who specialize in options for Microtia and Atresia. We were also thankful to have amazing sponsors who make a difference in the lives of children and adults who have Microtia and Atresia.  Thank you to our sponsors Cochlear Americas who helped educate everyone about the new Baha 5 Connect and Attract hearing device, and to Oticon Medical for educating everyone about the new Ponto 3 Superpower bone anchored hearing system.  Thank you to Medtronic (Sophono) for helping educate our families about the new Alpha MDO bone conduction hearing device.  Families were also able to learn about the different options for ear reconstructive surgery such as rib graft and Medpor.  Thank you to our sponsors Stryker CMF (Medpor) and Poriferous, LLC (Supor) for educating families about the internal options for ear frameworks that are used when reconstructing the outer ear.  It was a very fun and informative day!

A special thank you to our amazing sponsors for making our special picnic day possible! Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor – Cochlear Americas, our Gold Sponsor – Oticon Medical, our Silver Sponsor Medtronic (Sophono) and to Stryker CMF (Medpor), and Poriferous, LLC (Su-Por) for helping make our picnic day extra special! Thank you to James Hermsen of Spokiz eye glasses for donating eye glasses to kids without ears at our picnic and for having this information at our picnic. Thank you to Far End Gear for donating the one good ear buds that were donated to Ear Community and given away to families at our picnic. Thank you to the medical professionals who were able to be with us on our special day and help everyone get the answers to their questions.

It means so much for these families to come together and meet where they can share experiences and make a friend who is in the same situation. Community support for Microtia and Atresia families and that is just what Ear Community offers to families. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a special day! Thank you again to the Bittman family for hosting our 2017 NY Ear Community picnic and for becoming such wonderful Microtia and Atresia friends to the Tumblin Family over the years with our daughters and our family being in the same situation.

Here are some fun memories from our special picnic day in New York!

Fort Pierce, Florida
July 22nd, 2017

On Saturday, June 22nd, 2017, our 2nd Ear Community Microtia and Atresia family picnic took place in Fort Pierce, FL. We had just under 100 people attend who were given the opportunity to come together and share their experiences in the same situation and meet other families with loved ones who were born with Microtia and Atresia and who have hearing loss. We had a wonderful face painter and balloon art maker for the children who loved getting their faces painted and fun balloon animals. The Johnson family also found a great DJ to play music during the picnic, and kids had such a fun time dancing the day away! Families enjoyed a delicious lunch where sandwiches and fruits and vegetables were provided along with water and a fantastic cake. Each family received an educational flyer about “all” options that are currently available for Microtia and Atresia, including hearing loss options. Families also received some FREE give-a-ways including Ear Community Microtia and Atresia awareness wrist bands and short string back packs with Ear Community’s sponsor logos on them, cute beach balls, and ear buds generously donated from Far End Gear.

A special thank you to the Johnson family for helping coordinate and organize everything for our picnic! Mark and Lisa Johnson and their two beautiful daughters, Kylee and Eva hosted this fun picnic event. The Johnson family found our Ear Community Organization five years ago and were even at our first FL Ear Community picnic that was held in Orlando. Mark and Lisa’s daughter, Eva, was born with Microtia and Atresia and recently decided to try a prosthetic ear, which she loves. The Johnson family is happy to reach out to anyone who may have questions about their experience on their little ear journey. This family is very close to our Ear Community Organization as Mark is the graphic designer who helped us design our Microtia Awareness Ribbon for National Microtia Awareness day that our Ear Community Organization established last November 9th.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors, Cochlear Americas for helping educate families about the Cochlear Baha 5 processors, including all of the iPhone and iPad applications and accessories that are available for the Baha 5. Oticon Medical, for helping educate families about the Oticon Medical Ponto Plus and Power Plus bone anchored hearing system and more about hearing loss and how the streaming device can help stream music, talking on the phone, and being able to connect to the world easier! Thank you to Stryker CMF(Medpor) and Poriferous, LLC (Su-Por) for also helping to educate families about ear implants for Microtia outer ear reconstruction.  We also had James Hermsen of Spokiz eye glasses providing information about his great glasses that are specially made for children without ears.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in helping make this picnic possible for these families and thank you to the families who were able to make our picnic as we organized this day just for you and your families to come together and know that you are not alone. Thank you to our amazing sponsors for making our special picnic day possible! Thank you to Cochlear Americas, Medtronic (Sophono), Oticon Medical, Stryker CMF (Medpor), and Poriferous, LLC (Su-Por)! A special thank you to The Home Depot and manager Jeremy Myers for donating the generator rental for the DJ, we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy all of that great music without it! Thank you again to the Johnson family for hosting our 2017 FL Ear Community picnic and thank you to all of their friends and family who also helped make our picnic day fun and special, including Dr. Nagaraj Gowda, MD (their family pediatrician) whose donation was able to go towards bubble wands, jump ropes, and a lot of the necessary flatware needed for lunch and Angie Weathers whose generous donation bought the delicious cake for everyone to enjoy!

Here are some special memories from our picnic day in Florida this summer!

2nd Annual Nashville, Tennessee Ear Community Picnic
and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Microtia
and Atresia Conference July 22nd, 2017

On Saturday, July 22nd, Ear Community hosted it’s 2nd Microtia and Atresia summer family picnic in Nashville, Tennessee along with Maryli Pereira and her beautiful daughter, Anaiah Cruz, who recently had bilateral Medpor with Dr. Scott Stephan at Vanderbilt.  Anaiah also recently was implanted with the Baha 5 Attract and was excited to share her experience with families who attended both our picnic and our conference.  We had 160 people RSVP to our event and it was a HOT day, but an amazing day for everyone to come together. Families traveled from Ohio, Kentucky, Colorado, Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, Arkansas, including Tennessee to be with us on our special day.  Our Ear Community picnic was in collaboration with the 2^nd Annual Vanderbilt University Medical Center Microtia and Atresia conference.  Vanderbilt’s Microtia and Atresia Clinic’s medical staff presented at our conference which included Dr. Roland Eavey (Rib graft and soft tissue reconstruction) also the Clinical Director for the ENT Otolarygology Department at Vanderbilt, Dr. Siva Chinnadurai (rib graft and ear expanders) an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Dr. Scott Stephan (Medpor, Su-Por, and CAM) an Associate Professor at the University for plastic surgery, Dr. Alejo Rivas (Canalplasty, bone anchored implantation, and CAM) also an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, as well as at the Department of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt, Dr. Margaret McRedmond and Dr. Brandy Stephens (audiology), and Scott Fiscus (anaplastology).

Families enjoyed a delicious bar-b-q lunch and lots of fun and entertainment provided by our magician, balloon artist, and face painter. We had lots of families support our organization by wearing their National Microtia Awareness t-shirts to our picnic too and it was great to see so many familiar faces and meet many more new ones! Melissa Tumblin, Founder of the Ear Community Organization, presented Dr. Roland “Ron” Eavey with a thank you award for his dedication over the past 30 years helping individuals with Microtia and Atresia and their families. Dr. Eavey also briefly spoke about our genetic study that is in collaboration with our Ear Community Organization, Harvard University and Vanderbilt and how excited he was to have Melissa Tumblin listed as a co-investigator on the grant application that we have submitted for further genetic research on Microtia and Atresia. Many signed up for the study at our picnic and very excited about the results when they are ready to be published.

Families were truly able to learn about all of their options at our Nashville Ear Community picnic…from soft tissue reconstruction, ear expanders, rib graft surgery, both Medpor and Su-Por surgery, prosthetic ear options, and of course the “do nothing option and support your loved one just the way he/she is.”  On February 14^th, 2017, Dr. Ron Eavey launched the first “all options” Microtia and Atresia clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center along with the help of Melissa Tumblin, Founder of the Ear Community Organization.  Both are very excited to be able to offer all options in one location, including providing a top medical center and university that can also help educate about these options for families.

A very special thank you to our amazing sponsors who helped make our picnic day the amazing day it was!  Thank you to Cochlear Americas (our Platinum Sponsor) for helping educate families about Baha 5 Connect and Attract along with all of the accessories that compliment Baha 5, including information on the newly compatible options with iPhone!  Thank you to Oticon Medical (our Gold Sponsor) for helping educate everyone about the newly launched Ponto 3 Superpower along with all of the accessories that help make every day better for Ponto users.  Thank you to Medtronic (Sophono) (our Silver Sponsor) for helping educate everyone on the Alpha MDO sound processor and all of its accessories as well! Thank you to Stryker CMF for helping educate families about Medpor and to Poriferous, LLC helping educate families about Su-Por.  A special thank you to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for helping host our event and conference during the first part of our day and for all that the University and Medical Center, along with Dr. Eavey, Dr. Chinnadurai, Dr. Rivas, Dr. Stephan, Drs. McRedomond and Stephens, and Scott Fiscus for all that you do to help everyone know what is the latest available option to help their loved ones who are born with Microtia and Atresia. Thank you to James Hermsen for having a sign up sheet for his Spokiz eye glasses at the Ear Community table …to help kids wear glasses without ears. Thank you to Kevin Goldstein of Far End Gear for donating his “One Good Ear Buds” that we had in our Ear Community give-a-way short string back packs.

Here are some memories from our 2^nd Annual Ear Community Microtia and Atresia picnic day and Vanderbilt conference: (we are still excited to see the photos from our photographer, but here’s what we have for now)…

The most powerful family of abutment-level processors

In bone anchored hearing when it comes to audibility and understanding, power is everything. That’s why we are proud to present Ponto 3, the world’s most powerful abutment-level sound processor family. Ponto 3 gives you premium sound quality – even if you have a larger hearing loss.

Find out more about Ponto 3:

• BrainHearing^TM for bone anchored and how it supports the brain to make listening easier
• Powerful sound quality for improved audibility and speech understanding
• Power to participate through wireless connectivity and reliable performance
• New SuperPower made beautiful

BrainHearing^TM – because your brain is the most important part of hearing

If you have a hearing loss, you’ll know how difficult it can be to focus in noisy situations. When there are conversations and background noise, your brain has to work harder to make sense of the sounds it hears, which can leave you feeling drained.

BrainHearing^TM is about a fundamental understanding of how hearing works – and how the brain makes sense of sound. At Oticon Medical we choose to always focus on reducing the listening effort a hearing loss puts on the brain. This to free up mental energy for more important things in life.

Ponto 3 supports the brain’s cognitive processes using the advanced sound processing technology of the powerful Inium Sense platform and Direct Sound Transmission. This type of sound transmission sends sound straight to the bone and on to the inner ear and the brain without it having to travel through the skin, which can dampen sound. In this way Ponto 3 reduces the effort spent on listening and helps the brain to:

Powerful sound quality

Ponto 3 is the most powerful family of abutment-level sound processors in the market. This power gives you a greater volume range so loud sounds remain loud but not distorted and softer sounds are audible.

The unique UltraDrive™ technology in Ponto 3 SuperPower together with the new Inium Sense platform enables this power while minimizing the risk of feedback.

Power to focus and understand

Ponto 3 uses the FreeFocus directional system, designed to help the brain focus while continuing to orient and separate sounds. It automatically switches between different modes to keep sound clear even when you move from one listening environment to another. With its unique new FreeFocus directionality, Ponto 3 provides 15% better speech understanding in majority of situations typically more than 70% of time².

At the same time, the Inium Sense feedback shield lets you avoid potential feedback that can interrupt speech understanding and communication. This advanced Feedback Management system runs continuously to detect and eliminate feedback quickly and efficiently without affecting the sounds you want to hear.

Power to participate

The Ponto 3 can be used with the Oticon Medical Streamer and ConnectLine App for iPhone®, IPad®, iPod touch® and Android™ smartphones and tablets – without compromising power, sound quality or battery lifetime.

Whichever Ponto 3 you choose, you can be sure it will deliver the reliability and performance an active lifestyle requires. All aspects of the Ponto 3 have been extensively tested to ensure they meet the highest requirements of quality.

SuperPower made beautiful

The Ponto 3 SuperPower has all the power you need in a single-unit abutment-level sound processor. The advanced UltraDrive^TM technology of the Ponto 3 SuperPower means you can enjoy premium sound quality in the same discreet design as users with a more minor hearing loss.

Ponto 3 is available in six different colors including the new Pure White and Steel Grey. It can also be personalized using skins – now available in new colors – or stickers in new designs to match your mood or style.

¹ Pittman AL (2008). Short-term word-learning rate in children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss in limited and extended high-frequency bandwidths. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Vol. 51; 785-797. The study included both normal hearing and hearing impaired children who were exposed to limited and extended bandwidth. No conclusion can be drawn from this study with regards to Ponto 3.

² FreeFocus feature test report (2016), Oticon Medical report no 34425-00

Afsheen Fathima, 2.5 years old born with Microtia and Atresia of her left ear wearing her newly donated Baha 5 from Cochlear Americas, September 30, 2016.

Meet Afsheen Fathima, a beautiful little girl from India, who now lives with her mother and father in Henrico, Virginia (USA).  Afsheen is now 2.5 years old who was born with Microtia and Atresia of her left ear.  She was also born with scoliosis.  Afsheen is a sweet little girl who is excited to begin talking now that her vocabulary is coming in, but she is already experiencing delays in her speech according to her father, Salman Farish.  In order to help with Afsheen’s speech delays, Salman said that he and his wife are doing everything that has been suggested to them by their pediatrician…they have Afsheen in an “early intervention program and now we have our developmental specialist and speech therapist visiting her every week.”  Salman says that “Since this time of age is important for her speech and language development, our audiologist and ENT doctors suggested using a soft band Baha hearing device.”  Salman was able to obtain a trial or loaner Baha from their local audiologist for Afsheen to experience hearing better.  During this time, Salman says that “we were able to see good improvement in her speech…even Afsheen’s developmental specialist noticed how she was trying to pick up more words.”

Upon returning the loaner Baha to their audiologist, Salman applied for a Baha for Afsheen through their insurance company after seeing how much better she was hearing.  Unfortunately, Salman’s insurance provider denied the cost for coverage of a Baha for Afsheen.  As Salman is the only source of income for his family, Salman was unable to provide a new hearing device for Afsheen.  Especially, when they have most of their expenses going toward savings for Afsheen’s spinal treatment.  Fortunately, Salman and his family discovered the Ear Community Organization and applied for a hearing device for Afsheen.  On September 30^th, 2016, Afsheed was fitted with her new Cochlear Americas Baha 5 bone conduction processor.  Since Afsheen has been aided with her new Baha, Salman says that  “we could see change in here face reaction as soon as we put her new Baha 5 on her….even though Afsheen is having speech and developmental delay, we are very sure that this will definitely help her from here on out. We have a long way to go when considering reconstructive surgery for her ear, but being able to wear a hearing device is already making a big difference for us with Afsheen.”

Thank you to Dr. Jennifer White (audiologist) at Virginia Commonwealth University for donating her time and services to fit and program Afsheen’s newly donated Baha 5 from Cochlear Americas!  Ear Community is a nonprofit organization that helps the Microtia and Atresia community worldwide. Ear Community is so very thankful for the help that it receives and when other organizations come together to help Ear Community with its mission, to help children and adults born with Microtia and Atresia. “Thank you to Cochlear Americas for helping little Afsheen live a better quality of life by donating her new Baha 5 processor so she can hear better,” says Melissa Tumblin.

Ear Community would especially like to thank Stacey Jones and Kara Golmont of Cochlear Americas for donating the Baha 5 to our organization so Ear Community could help Afsheen hear better. “Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. It has a dedicated global team of more than 2,500 people who deliver the gift of sound to those with hearing loss in over 100 countries. Its vision is to connect people, young and old, to a world of sound by offering life enhancing hearing solutions. In 2013, Cochlear celebrates 100,000 Baha System users – all with unique stories of how being able to hear again has impacted their lives. The Cochlear promise of “Hear Now. And Always” embodies the company’s commitment to providing its recipients with the best possible hearing performance today and for the rest of their lives.”

We are so happy that you can hear so much better now Afsheen!  Your mom and dad are wonderful advocates for you!  Congrats from all of us at the Ear Community Organization.

Thanks!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder and Executive Director
Ear Community Organization
www.EarCommunity.org

Cailin O’Hern from Richmond Hill, Georgia, Ear Community college scholarship recipient for Fall 2016, Point University

Meet Cailin O’Hern from Richmond Hill, Georgia. Cailin just graduated from the twelfth grade as a home-schooled student. Cailin was born with Microtia and Atresia of her right ear. Cailin says that having Microtia and Atresia was challenging for her over the years as she often felt awkward and self-conscious when asked about her ear. She also found that being in social situations was challenging when she couldn’t hear well because of her hearing loss. However, Cailin has learned to become quite good at lip reading and positioning herself to where her hearing ear is toward the conversation.

Cailin is a fan of classic literature and she is an artist. She has enjoyed being the newspaper-book editor at Landry Academy (an online home-schooling community) and enjoys writing and reading very much.

Cailin is excited to attend Point University this fall in Richmond Hill, Georgia. With the help of a $750 college scholarship that has been awarded to Cailin by the Ear Community Organization, she will be able to achieve her educational goal of furthering her education in literature and the arts. Cailin’s dream is to become an author. She would love to create stories that help young children not only understand and accept their physical differences, but empower them to excel because of their differences.

It was a joy speaking with Cailin and her family when I called to let her know that the Ear Community Organization’s board of directors had voted to award her a college scholarship. What was so special about this phone call is the day that I called to tell Cailin the good news was her graduation day and that just made her day even more special. A special thank you to the Resort2Kindness Organization for helping make Cailin’s scholarship possible.  All of us here at Ear Community are proud of you Cailin and we know you will achieve your goals and dreams. We look forward to reading some of your wonderful stories someday. Congratulations for all of us at the Ear Community Organization!

Melissa Tumblin
Founder and Executive Director
and
Ear Community Board Members
www.EarCommunity.org

Arkin Silutan Lerio, a 10 month old boy from the Philippines who was born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia. Hearing device recipient of two Oticon Medical Ponto Plus sound processors that were donated through the Ear Community Organization on August 15th, 2016.

Meet little Arkin Silutan Lerio, a 10 month old adorable baby boy from Las Pinas City in the Philippines.  Arkin was born with grade III bilateral Microtia and Atresia.  When Arkin was two months old, Arkin’s mom, Jhoan Silutan Hernandez,
took him to an ENT specialist so that he could have an ABR hearing test conducted.  This is when she learned that Arkin had a severe to profound hearing loss in both of his ears.  Jhoan was also informed that Arkin may struggle with speech delays due to his bilateral hearing loss.

At three months of age, Arkin was given the opportunity to try on a bone conduction hearing device for just a few minutes.  During this time, Arkin’s mom, Jhoan, quickly realized how this changed his hearing.  Jhoan says “We got a positive response!…I saw how Arkin smiled, cried, and opened his eyes wide every time the audiologist would speak to him.”  “It was a priceless moment for us and for Arkin!”  She knew from that moment that Arkin needed to hear better with the help of hearing devices.  However, Arkin’s family does not have medical insurance and their income made it unlikely to be able to pay for a bone conduction hearing device out of pocket.  Jhoan struggled with finding answers about Microtia and Atresia.  Many of the medical professionals Jhoan took Arkin to did not the answers to her questions and were not familiar with seeing a child with Microtia and Atresia.  Jhoan did some research online and thankfully found the Ear Community Organization.  After learning more about Microtia and Atresia and discovering how she could help Arkin more with his speech, she discovered that the Ear Community Organization also donates hearing devices and so she applied.

On Monday, August 15th, 2016, Arkin proudly received two newly donated Oticon Medical Ponto Plus hearing devices and steamer from Oticon Medical that were donated through the Ear Community Organization.  Many people helped Arkin along the way in order for him to receive his new hearing devices.  A special thank you to Izovelle “Icee” Piedad (audiologist with Philiear Inc.) for helping donate her time to fit and program Arkin’s new Ponto Plus hearing devices!  Icee waited patiently for Arkin’s hearing devices to make it through customs and was delighted to receive them for Arkin’s appointment a week ago.  Thank you also to Gabe Murphy of Idaho (USA), who wanted to give back to the Microtia and Atresia community and help a child hear better.  Gabe organized a 5k race fund raiser event in Preston, Idaho for his senior class project.  Some of the funds that were raised went toward paying for the shipping of Arkin’s hearing device.  Gabe is excited to have helped Arkin because Gabe was also born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia.  Thank you for helping Arkin, Gabe….and thank you for your support to the Ear Community Organization!

Jhoan says that Arkin is already hearing better and that he is mimicking sounds.  She says that Arkin is already making new sounds and babbling more!  Arkin also has a new friend, his monkey that he has decided to call “Otty” that came from Oticon Medical with his gift of hearing.  Arkin is very lucky to have such an amazing mommy like Jhoan.  Jhoan stayed on top of the tracking for Arkin’s hearing devices updated me (Melissa Tumblin) every step of the way.  She even had a beautiful cake made to help celebrate Arkin’s special day with Icee donating her time to help fit Arkin’s hearing devices.  Love the cake Jhoan and thank you!  What a sweet touch to a sweet day!

A very special thank you to Alan Raffauf, Vice President of Marketing for Oticon Medical US, for choosing to donate two new Oticon Medical Ponto Plus hearing devices w/streamer to Ear Community so that it could be donated to Arkin to help her hear better during the critical years of development.   As a tribute to Curt Gorman, Oticon Medical’s past president, who passed away last August, may Arkin thrive in the hearing world with his new hearing devices and never miss a beat as he continues to grow.  Curt Gorman had a passion for helping children hear better as he was a pioneer in the hearing device industry, especially for bone anchored hearing devices.   Many who loved and knew Curt have made donations to also help children hear better through the Ear Community Organization.  Thank you for everyone’s support and for helping Ear Community continue with it’s mission of helping individuals with Microtia and Atresia. Oticon Medical believes in helping individuals with hearing loss so that they can live a better quality of life. Oticon Medical is a well respected international hearing device manufacturer that is a part of the “William Demant Group [which has] 100-plus years of experience in audiology and sound processing and established manufacturing and logistics infrastructure.”

Arkin, we are all so very proud of you and we hope you thrive everyday and get the most out of life, especially all of the sounds that come with it!  We hope you keep us updated as you grow older!  Congratulations on hearing your best Arkin.  Here are some cute pictures of Arkin on his special day!

We are so proud of you!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder of the Ear Community Organization
and
Ear Community Board members
www.EarCommunity.org