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
