November 13, 2024 | Ear Community

The microtia and atresia blue awareness day ribbon.

On November 9th, 2024, our Ear Community Organization’s 9th dedicated International Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day took place for our beautiful community! We had families, medical professionals, schools, hearing device companies and other organizations embrace our special day around the globe! The microtia and aural atresia community was embraced by many community’s all over the world including the United States, Canada, Taiwan, the UK, Denmark, China, Argentina, Ecuador, Columbia, Mexico, Mongolia, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and more!

Each year, we come together to celebrate our beautiful children and promote awareness and education about microtia and atresia. It is important to shine a light on this rare cause as only 800,000 children and adults have microtia and atresia in the world. In the United States, there approximately 58,000 individuals living with microtia and atresia with an estimated 660 babies being born each year in the US (1 out of 6,000 chances at birth).

4 grades of microtia and aural atresia

November 9th is dedicated to spreading hope and knowledge of a rare congenital birth anomaly known as microtia and aural atresia. Microtia (missing or underdeveloped ears) and Atresia (missing or underdeveloped ear canal, resulting in hearing loss) when the ear(s) occurs during the 1st trimester of pregnancy when the ears do not fully develop. Often affecting one ear or both ears, Microtia and Atresia come as a surprise when diagnosed at birth. Facial challenges, hearing loss and the longing for social acceptance are some of the daily concerns for those who are born with Microtia and Atresia.

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

Zoey receives the gift of hearing for National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day. San Antonio, TX, November 5th, 2024. Ponto 5 Mini thanks to Oticon Medical and Ear Community. (right ear microtia and atresia)

One of our many highlights this November 9th was our Ear Community Organization being able to help give the gift of hearing to Zoey, a young girl in Texas who had been denied a bone conduction hearing device multiple times by different health insurance plans. No one should ever have to fight to hear! Hearing devices give people their lives back and also allow for a better quality of life. Zoey’s story shares how her hearing loss changed over time and how it began to affect her in school. Thankfully, Zoey’s

Melissa and Swati, “Let’s Normalize the Differences – Microtia”. Renaissance with Swati on Youtube.

family found Ear Community! There were many other highlights this November 9th! Ear Community’s Founder, Melissa Tumblin, was invited on a beautiful podcast called Renaissance with Swati to talk about differences and acceptance of our children. Thank you to Swati Jain for doing this beautiful podcast with me for Microtia Awareness Day! Also, the International Center for Ear Reconstruction in China hosting an amazing event for 35

The International Center for Ear Reconstruction in China microtia awareness day event, 2024.

microtia and atresia families this year! The event was able to educate microtia families on their options and also about helpful resources like the Ear Community Organization! The Mongolian Microtia community brought 47 children together this year making it a special day for everyone who attended!

Since 2016, our organization has been collaborating with Auregen BioTherapeutics on an ear of the future, a 3D printed regenerated ear for individuals who were born with microtia and aural atresia. Last fall Auregen began their clinical trials and we are excited bout the results for a new

Auregen Bio embracing National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day, 2024.

ear in the future that would be made of your own bodies cells. An event in New York took place on the weekend of National Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day for families that attended. Thank you to Auregen Bio for your incredible dedication to our cause and for wanting to improve upon techniques to help make children and adults born with microtia feel whole again. Here is a group photo of the Auregen Team wearing our Ear Community awareness day t-shirts this year! Thank you for all that you do to help our community and cause!

It’s always a joy to watch our children advocate for themselves. It’s even more of a joy to see the pride in them as they educate others about their rare cause. We had many children educate in their school classrooms this year, presenting about microtia, hearing loss and hearing devices. Many schoolroom teachers and Teachers of the Deaf embraced their students who have microtia and atresia in the classroom, sharing

California

about options and also enjoying cookies and cupcakes making it a special day to learn something about other’s differences! From school parking lot signs posting about our awareness day to schools including our special community day on their monthly calendars – it was a wonderful time to educate and include so many! Most importantly, there was a lot of talk about kindness and acceptance and that it is okay to be curious, but be curious in a understanding way. It is important to remember that children and adults with microtia and atresia are not different from anyone else. Individuals with microtia and atresia can do everything anyone else can do. Especially when given the chance to. In the UK, The Enniskillen Castle & Strule Artts Centre in Omagh where lit up on November 9th for our cause just like last year in Canada where the CN Tower was lit up in our blue awareness day color. Amazing!

The Furze Family promoting microtia awareness in the school classroom!

As parents, we are willing to move mountains for our children in order to give them what they need. It also takes a village to make this happen! Ear Community’s mission has always been filled with the hope to find the answers we are looking for and for every child and adult born with microtia and atresia to know they are never alone, because they have all of us in our community! Our organization brings our families together, we educate on the options that can make our loved ones live the happiest lives, we do research to make our communities better, we advocate for what is needed and we provide information that will help the next

Kayla sharing about microtia and hearing loss in her school classroom.

family’s journey easier when they have a child born with microtia and atresia. However, we cannot do this alone. Helen Keller once said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!” We are grateful for the community we now have! We are grateful to everyone who embraces our rare cause and helps give back to our community. Thank you to all who love our children and adults with microtia and atresia! Thank you for taking a moment to learn about something new like microtia and aural atresia!

A HUGE thank you to Ear Community’s Sponsors who help give back to our community, including all of our donors who support the good we do and allow our organization to keep on keepin on! Without you, our community would not be here to offer so much in the way of our events, donating hearing devices to those in need, awarding college scholarships, advocating for legislation that is needed and championing genetics and general research that is needed for our community. Especially, shining a light on our cause during Microtia and Atresia Awareness Day! Thank you to everyone’s continued support to our organization and community! It is appreciated more than you know and means the world to the community we serve!

Melissa Tumblin
Founder, Executive Director
Ear Community