To consider ear splints for my 4 month old?

[Tallblue]

My little one started out with 'normal' ears and over the months they have grown more and more outwards and really stick out now, like almost 90 degrees. To me my baby is so beautiful, but I'm so worried about him eventually being teased at school, I've watched this happen to others growing up and know kids can be so cruel.

I've found something called 'ear buddies' which is a splinting device and has a high success rate in babies. Basically a splint is put into the outer ear and it's taped (surgical tape) against the head. It would apparently take 3 months to be effective according to the website. It's approved by lots of reputable organizations, including some NHS trusts. I'm thinking it's better to do this now whilst baby is small rather than having to consider surgery later on. The earlier the splints are used, the shorter the timeframe so it's not really an option to wait and see. For a baby my age it could take 3 months, any older and we'd be looking at 6 months or more.

I'm torn between not wanting to change a thing about my beautiful baby's appearance and missing an opportunity to potentially help with something he could be upset about later on (being teased about ears). Using the splints could be uncomfortable now but I'm thinking as he's so small he won't remember whereas if he chooses to have ear pinning later on, that would be painful.

AIBU to consider using the splints?

OP. I had the same thing when my DD was a baby. She has one ear that looks like it didn't form properly and if you push it back against her head, it looks normal iykwim. I read about Ear Buddies and went to the doctor to see if our local NHS would fit them. He referred me to the hospital who made me feel like I was making a fuss over nothing. He made me feel like some neurotic mother and I took no further action. He said that she could have corrective surgery in her teens if it bothered her then.

DD is now 8 and her ear still sticks out. I have said nothing to her about it, or done anything about it, but fear she may need surgery to correct it one day. I wish now that I had ignored the hospital and gone ahead and used them.

Hi OP,

Just wondered how your son's getting on with his splints? Do update us, if you can.

Best of luck to you both, anyway.

Glad you're going ahead - I wish I had for my DC.

Ok so...
After receiving the ear buddies in the post a few weeks ago we slightly delayed fitting them. We had DM over from U.K. to visit us for 10 days and we knew she would make a big issue of it, easier just to avoid the issue. Then, after that DS had a cold/fever, then had vaccinations, there was always a reason to put it off. Finally, we have just fitted the ear buddies today! The worst part was having to shave an area of scalp from around the ear, so the tapes stick to hairless skin. Was very fiddly to get the ear buddies in place but we did it when DS was fast asleep. He's still asleep so I'm yet to know if he notices or is bothered by it. Apparently we need to try to leave the splint and tapes in place for two weeks at a time, before changing the tapes. Will update to let you know how it goes.

@Tallblue how was your experience with the ear buddies? I have just finished the recommended splint time with my 3mo but hard to know if they’ve been effective or not at the moment! I guess time will tell, I found that behind the ear was becomjng sore and abit smelly. I think from milk running down - did you experience this at all?