Archives for December 2025

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