Archives for August 2025

Wyatt Sclafani, Fall 2025 Ear Community college scholarship recipient.

Congratulations to Wyatt Sclafani for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Wyatt was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of his right ear and lives in Belmont, Massachusetts with his family. Wyatt grew up playing football and rugby during school and has become quite the start athlete at his high school. Being involved in athletics where he can be competitive with others who have sports in common has helped him fit in and make lots of friends. Wyatt says that “The last four years have been some of the best hears of my life.” Wyatt was able to win the Middlesex League Campionship alongside his football team, which he says hadn’t been done since the 1960’s. He also served as a team captain for his football team and even traveled to Italy to play for the Belmont Rugby Football Team this past April.

Wyatt also knows what it is like to be a part of community when it comes to microtia and

Wyatt Sclafani, Ear Community college scholarship recipient for Fall 2025.

atresia. He and his family have hosted (2) Ear Community picnics over the years in Boston where Wyatt has enjoyed being a role model for others in the same situation. Whether he is on the field or volunteering with the community helping someone realize that they are not alone with whatever challenge they have, Wyatt has learned to be a role model in many ways. At the Ear Community picnics that Wyatt and his family have hosted over the years, he has enjoyed speaking with others in our community and also being there for the younger kids. At our organization’s last picnic in Boston, a little boy traveled to our picnic just to take a picture with Wyatt so he could show all of his friends at school that he knows a cool kid because he was struggling with friends. Wyatt was happy to take a picture with this little boy and helped make his day in addition to helping him realize that he is not alone with microtia and atresia! Wyatt is attending Nichols College in Dudley, MA where he will be playing Division 3 football for Nichols College! Wyatt plans to earn his degree in business & marketing!

Wyatt, you have a bright future lying ahead for you in both school and in sports! We are excited to see where football takes you and we just know you will do amazing things with your degree in business and marketing!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

Mya DeAngelis, Ear Community college scholarship recipient for Fall 2025.

Congratulations to Mya DeAngelis for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Mya was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of her right ear and has Goldenhar Syndrome. She lives with her family in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Mya is an honors student who graduated with a rank of 30 out of 245 students. She played tennis for all four years of her high school career and was also part of the mock trial club and the club for change. While she enjoyed being competitive, one of her favorite things she was a part of during high school was being a member of the club for change because it is a group that gets together to foster positive change in the community.

Mya comes from a long history of family being involved with construction and skilled trades. Her great grandfather was a mason. Her grandfather was a master electrician and her dad has carried on the tradition as a master electrician as well. Mya remembers that during holiday breaks and summer vacation, she would go to work with her dad on various projects and has realized the satisfaction behind completing a project from start to finish. She also appreciates knowing how many people of various skill sets and backgrounds come together to complete a job.

Mya will be the first of her family to attend college & she is very excited to carry the torch from her family history of electricians, masonry experts & construction professionals! She is attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston & is looking forward to earning her degree in Construction & Project Management!

We are excited for you to build an incredible future for yourself and to build incredible places for so many others as you utilize your skills in construction and project management, Mya! Congratulations! Our Ear Community Organization and our community are proud of you! Do great things, Mya!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

Joshua Gorlin receives Ear Community college scholarship, Fall 2025.

Congratulations to Joshua Gorlin for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Joshua was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of his right ear and lives in New York. Ever since Joshua was a child, he has loved music! He had dreamed of being a music teacher for years! In elementary school, Joshua began noticing that he hears differently and would sit in the front of the class to ensure he could hear the teacher. He says looking back, he remembers that the other kids would laugh at him or make jokes, but there was always one place he felt like the other kids and that was in the music room!

When Joshua was a child, he attended one of our Ear Community picnics with his family so he wouldn’t feel so alone, which helped instill a newfound confidence in him that he wasn’t the only one missing an ear & there were others just like him! With his love of music and knowing he wasn’t alone now, he found a home with the band at school over the years, fitting in better. Over the years, Joshua became even more confident being cast in roles in drama and theater performances, discovering these and music as outlets to express himself. He began realizing that he enjoyed standing out not because of his he had a disability and was different, but because he was recognized for his strengths! Music has become an important part of Joshua’s life and he enjoys having the opportunity to bring joy to others whether it is performing through jazz combos at venues in restaurants or singing in the local church choir or just singing Beatles songs on his guitar or the piano with his grandmother. All of this has pointed Joshua in the direction of working toward a career in music!

Joshua is very involved with his community and at school including being the Vice President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, Treasurer for the Monroe Woodbury Drama Club and playing string bass in the Chamber Orchestra. He was also selected for the State NYSSMA All-State Mixed Chorus in 2023 and 2024 and for NYSSMA All-State Vocal Jazz in 2025. So, for Joshua, his dream of becoming a music teacher is the perfect pairing of using the joy of music to encourage students to overcome their obstacles and differences and find what makes them unique! Joshua will be attending Fredonia State University in NY earning a degree in Music Education & Theater! He looks forward to becoming a music teacher!

We just know that Joshua will make an incredible music teacher and we bet he will definitely be a favorite teacher for so many of his students over the years! Congratulations, Joshua! Our Ear Community Organization and our community are proud of you! We know you will go on to do many great things!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

Ear Community & Vanderbilt microtia & atresia collaborative event. Pictured from left to right (front row): Hannah McManus, Emily Rebula, Dr. Filipina Schnabel, Melissa Tumblin, D. Jason Park, Dr. Shi Yang. (back row): Scott Fiscus, Dr. Brandy Stephens, Dr. Marc Bennett & Dr. Scott Stephan.

The Ear Community Organization & Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been hosting a collaborative microtia and atresia event together for nearly a decade now. “This event is incredibly special to the Ear Community Organization,” says Founder, Melissa Tumblin. Ten years ago, Dr. Ron Eavey (past Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery & Director of the Bill Wilkerson Center) recruited Melissa to help launch the first all options microtia and atresia clinic in Nashville after seeing the events hosted and the difference being made through Ear Community. “Vanderbilt has always had a special place in my heart for our community and we just love bringing everyone together in Nashville,” Melissa says. “The next conference and picnic is planned for the summer of 2027!”

Following this year’s conference in July, Melissa shared about receiving many messages from families saying that “their hearts were full after our special day! This event is like a family reunion! Tears of joy & families feeling relieved that they are no longer alone w/microtia & atresia is priceless to see! Families have the opportunity to hear straight from the doctors from the clinic as they help provide the answers they are looking for, including the chance to learn about all of their options for microtia and atresia during educational presentations. Melissa shared “how special it is to see the children & adults w/microtia & atresia at our event connect & share experiences together! This is such a special time, helping so many of our community members find more confidence & hear about other’s perspectives. My daughter, Ally, is also enjoying our events in different ways now that she is older & seems to be more open about sharing about her experience too as a teen w/microtia and atresia.”

Melissa and Ally Tumblin with picnic host, John Melson.

Each year, Melissa selects a picnic host for the conference and picnic with Vanderbilt. This year, John Melson, was our picnic host, who is also a Vanderbilt patient. We are grateful for John sharing his journey with all of us, living with microtia and atresia! In 2018, John decided to have a Medpor ear reconstructed by Dr. Scott Stephan when he was 26 years old. Shared stories like John’s matter and are important for others to hear the different decisions that others make. We are thankful for John sharing with us that it’s okay to make decisions as you go along your journey w/microtia! This really helps others to hear different people’s perspectives and to realize that there is time to make these decisions and when you are ready. John also shared how he and his parents almost made the decision to have surgery when he was a child, but they did not go through with it. He is happy he waited he said! John also was a panel member on the parent/patient panel for Vanderbilt during the conference. John’s beautiful wife, Sarah and children Jesse and Blake joined, including his parents Liz and Jared, all traveling from Pennsylvania to be with us on our special day.

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center microtia and atresia clinic.

The Vanderbilt Microtia and Atresia Clinic would not be the top notch medical resource it is without the incredible group of medical professionals that make up this home for our community members. I am grateful for all of you! Thank you to Drs. Scott Stephen (Chief of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), Dr. Brandy Stephens (Pediatric Audiologist), Dr. Marc Bennett (Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery & Director of Quality and Safety), Dr. Shi Yang (Otolaryngologist & Assistant Professor, Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery), Dr. Jason Park (Assistant Professor in Pediatric Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery), Dr. Filipina Schnabel (Pediatric Laryngologist, Nurse Practitioner & O-HNS Surgeon) & Scott Fiscus (Anaplastologist) & Hannah McManus (Facial Plastics Patient Care Manager) for an educational & wonderful day bringing our community together w/Ear Community!

Thank you to Ear Community’s Platinum Sponsors for helping make our special day possible & for educating everyone on the latest bone conduction hearing device systems! Thank you for your continued support to our organization & to our community!
Platinum Sponsors
Cochlear Americas
MED-EL
Oticon Medical

Thank you to James Hermsen for being a part of our Ear Community events and for helping our microtia kids be able to wear glasses that stay up when you are missing an ear or 2 & for being able to give away glasses to every child at our event through Pax’s Eyewear Fund, made possible by the Gross Family Foundation for Ear Community! Our entertainment was top notch & wow did the kids LOVE Sunday the bunny! 🐰 Thank you to Jim N’ Nicks for another delicious BBQ for everyone!

Thank you to beautiful Noelle McFarland for singing for us! Thank you also to Ear Community Board Members Alex Lang, Noelle McFarland & Chris Bowman for being w/us in Nashville!

Thank you again for such a wonderful day for so many in our community! It’s always heart warming to see so many new & familiar faces!
Here are some wonderful memories from our Vanderbilt & Ear Community microtia & atresia conference & picnic that took place on July 26th, 2025.
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community

Sean Callinicos (Sonova), Ryan Shuman (Ear Community), Keesha Pfeiffer (Cochlear Americas) and Hilary McManus (Oticon Medical) advocate for Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 in Washington, DC during the 119th Session.

Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 was introduced again on July 22nd, 2025. Before our bill was reintroduced during the 119th session, Ear Community and some of our endorsers and advocates were already hard at work advocating in Washington, DC on May 2nd and during July 8th, 9th and 10th of this year! Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 is a small but focused bipartisan bill requiring private insurers to cover bone anchored hearing device systems and cochlear implants for children and adults from birth to age 64. Bone anchored hearing systems and cochlear implants are the only hearing devices some children and adults can benefit from due to having specific hearing loss types, making them medically necessary.

Sean Callinicos and Ryan McDevitt advocating for Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606.

These implantable hearing devices are NOT traditional hearing aids and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Insurance coverage is unpredictable and inconsistent. Of the half million people who require these hearing devices, approximately 200,000 are abandoned by their insurance, needing the critical coverage this bill ensures. Ally’s Act is a narrowly targeted yet deeply impactful bill that is much needed and would make coverage consistent!

A million THANK YOUS to our Advocacy team that included our lobbyists (who have donated their time and services to advocate for our bill) and to our endorsers and advocates (who also donated their time) for sharing their stories! Thank you for your continued support, your passion and determination to continue championing this bill toward passage! Your willingness to advocate, sharing personal stories of why bone anchored hearing devices and cochlear implants matter to them or to their children and the need for private insurers to cover these devices, matters! Advocates in our group during this last Fly-in included parents of children who benefit from these specialized hearing device implant systems, to adults who personally wear these devices allowing them to have the careers they dream of, to the very hearing device manufacturers who consistently see customers denied coverage by private insurers for these hearing devices. Thank you to everyone who came together to advocate recently and to those who will continue to champion our bill and help educate why Ally’s Act is needed. Your voices are what is needed in order to educate why Ally’s Act is so important!

A very special thank you to the following advocates:
Thank you to Sean Callinicos of Sonova for all of your help with Ally’s Act over the past 4 years. Sean has been ranked as one of The Hill’s top lobbyists over the years and we are proud to have him championing Ally’s Act with us! Thank you to Ryan McDevitt of Bristol Myers Squibb for not only leading many of our meetings with his experience in public affairs, but as a father of a child who would benefit from the services under Ally’s Act – Thank you, Ryan, for fighting for children like Brooke and Ally! Thank you to Ryan Shuman for leading our efforts as our Government Affairs Advisor for Ear Community during our Fly-ins this summer and for helping give us the opportunity to have our voices heard when meeting with Congressmen and Senators in DC! Thank you to Bridget Dobyan of the Hearing Industries Association for helping us advocate and for sharing your own personal journey as a bone anchored hearing aid user and how your career depends on hearing! Thank you to Keesha Pfeiffer of Cochlear Americas for advocating for the hearing device industry, but for also advocating for your son, Josh, who also depends on a bone anchored hearing device just like Ally and Brooke. Thank you to  Dr. Hilary McManus of Oticon Medical for advocating as an audiologist who understands why these hearing devices give people their lives back, but for also advocating for so many with hearing loss who are at a loss when insurers deny coverage for these hearing devices. And, thank you to Valerie Eastwood of MED-EL for helping us advocate as an expert attorney over quality and compliance for these hearing devices, seeing how often they are denied for those who need them most!  Thank you for advocating for all of the children and adults who are denied the opportunity to hear when it comes to lack of insurance coverage for these specific hearing devices.

We are asking the community to please write to, email, call and schedule a meeting with your Congressmen asking them to cosponsor Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606. We want Ally’s Act to pass! For more details on how to advocate for this piece of legislation, visit Ear Community’s website here. We ask that you write a personal letter to the DC office location (templates are on the website) and include the Ally’s Act 1-pager, list of endorsers and fact sheet. Please follow up with a phone call 2 weeks later to the DC office of your Representative.

Here are some memories captured during our Fly-ins on Capitol Hill so far this year!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community