Pointy ears - to splint or not to splint. What would you do?

[cherishlia]

My DS has adorable little pointy ears, he's now nearing 18 weeks and they're exactly as they were at birth (they haven't unfolded or anything). I didn't take much notice until someone pointed it out, and so I found EarBuddies - an ear splint that reshapes the cartilage (completely noninvasive). I ordered some ages ago that arrived when he was 8 weeks old... since then I've been umming and ahing about whether to use them or not. Is it the right thing to do? I absolutely love his ears, but is he going to? Is he going to resent me for not changing his ears? Is he going to resent me for changing something about his body? Is he going to be teased/bullied if I leave his ears be? How am I to know... but I do know that children can be extremely cruel. If I leave them and down the line he asks for surgery due to bullying etc, it's going to cost a whole lot and hurt a whole lot.

I want him to love himself and everything that makes him unique, but realistically I'm being too optimistic, right? I've looked at it from my own perspective (though I am a highly self-conscious individual who lacks self love and confidence), and I'd have wanted my parents to use such a product to reshape my ears.

Can I have some outside thoughts on this? I've attached photos of his ears. Also, anyone who has experience with EarBuddies, I'd much appreciate any comments and advice. Thank you all in advance.

Leave them alone. They are his ears.

If you search I'm sure there are threads on here about EarBuddies. I didn't know about them when ds was a baby otherwise I might have considered them... sorry not much help!

Leave them, they’re adorable.

Fwiw I think they look fine...

My dd had pointy ears as a baby but they changed after a few months, I never thought about correcting them at the time (18 years ago). I wouldn’t thought there’s any harm in using something like earbuddies.

Yep, I would use them. Anything that will make life easier for him when he's older- if it can be done painlessly.

I'd leave well alone.

O have what many would consider a disfiguring birthmark. My dad always called it my beauty spot and I believed I was lucky to have it as a child. As an adult it's just part of me. That's the kind of thing you can do for him.

Leave them alone. Please

Ah how cute! My 18 year old has pointy ears, I love them

My ds had this with 1 ear and it resolved itself when he was about 6 months with no intervention. If you are concerned about them please talk to your health visitor or Dr before you do anything

I would get advice about it from a doctor before I tried to treat it myself.

My ds had one ear like that.

Like you I worried about bullying. I did nothing and it’s evened out a bit itself. It’s still my favourite ear.

I think if you are going to be bullied the bully will pick on anything. Shoes, ears, haircut…doesn’t matter.

I would leave them, chances are the shape will change as he gets older anyway.

I have very sticky out ears and made the decision myself to have surgery to correct them when I was 10, I wouldn’t have liked the idea of my parents deciding I needed correcting though (if that makes sense)

I would use the ear buddies

My dcs ears were both similar, one more so than the other. I did Google it when she was small and came across the same product but in the end decided to leave it. She's now 3 and it's barely noticeable. In one ear the inner cartilage at the top still has a slight crease in it and is a bit 'pointy' at the back. She sometimes complains it's uncomfortable when I clean them (a lot of dry skin/cradle cap) but otherwise no probs.

I'd leave them, I didn't even know ear splints were a thing. DS has odd ears. One is pointy (he calls it his pixie ear.) The other is just an odd shape. He loves them. He's never been bullied about them. If anything people comment on how cool they are!

I'd use them. He won't thank you for pointy ears.

If a child is going to get bullied, they will. The bullies find something. The trick is to teach your child that their self-worth comes from inside them and to not give a shit. Style it out.

Teaching children that they need to change themselves to fit in and be acceptable does the opposite of what you think it does.

Am I old fashioned in saying just be grateful you have a gorgeous , healthy child ? I'm totally against the idea that you should try to "fix" anything that doesn't adversely impact their physical health.

I thought this would be about sticking out ears, but I have never even noticed if someone has pointy ears or not!

Hello. I used earbuddies on my child 4 years ago. I researched to the point of confusion and just went for it.
They were very expensive, I had myself convinced it didn’t matter. It looked so easy.. the pictures looked so convincing. My son would hate his ears so I should do it.

It was a NIGHTMARE.
Firstly had to shave all the hair anywhere tapes will go. So everyone stared at my baby for the weird buzz cut around the ears. Everyone always asking what was going on.
The tapes are skin coloured, but very noticeable without a hat.
Next- tape changes. Painful for baby without a tonne of tape remover from them and special wipes. Cost a fortune re ordering and paying delivery as needed way much more than they made out. Same with tapes. Almost impossible to fit in a wriggling baby who is upset..
The actual tapes are meant to be left on a long time. It DOESNT HAPPEN.
My baby sweated, had sick ups on his sides, needed washed, pulled tapes, wiped food up there and milk.
The tapes get absolutely gross and peeling so fast. They need to stay dry.. bath time is out. Splashing is out. You end up needing to change them way more than they let on. And that was a drama for us each and every time.

Lastly, we persevered for months, and the day I gave up was due to utter shock when I took tapes off for a change and the ear buddy had left a scab on the end where is was poking his ear. I was distraught. The company said I must have fitted the earbuddy wrong.
They looked perfectly fitted like the pictures describe to me though. His ear ended up very sore and I can see the white mark left by the scab if I straighten out his ear.
They give the option of having them “fitted” but only by certain people in certain areas . My gp refused to have anything to do with this.
Unfortunately it made zero difference to my babys ears, and as soon as all his lovely curls grew back I forgot all about them and don’t even notice them under hair anymore.
If he’s bothered he can get them sorted when he’s older.

Looking back I can’t believe I obsessed so much over doing it. And wish I hadn’t, I cringe looking at photos of him with tapes and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

This is just my experience, and may not be yours.
But I know there isn’t much info out there on these , unless it’s positive directly from the companies pages. So I thought I would share.
Your baby’s ears really aren’t all that unusual and don’t stick out at all, so will be hidden under hair sooner rather then later and you will likely forget all about them!

If it's just a cosmetic thing, I'd leave them. His ears make him unique and provided his hearing isn't affected, just let it be a feature that he has. As PP are saying, getting him to keep the splints on will just make him cranky.
My cousin was born with massive sticking out ears and still has them. He has never been bullied and does not look strange - it's just him, the way some people have bigger or smaller noses.
Congratulations on your cute baby

My DH has pointy ears. I adore them

Your sweet baby’s ears look fine to me and they’ll likely unfold a bit more themselves in time, but if not, meh.

Ear buddies sound like a textbook “preying on the insecurities of new parents” type of concept. Resist that shit.

Oh please don't. My younger two had pointy ears at birth and I loved them. Wouldn't have bought this product. They look pretty normal now on the 3yo. The 7mo is almost round as well now.