The Ears

The external ears, the visible part of our hearing apparatus, have a fairly complex shape determined by their cartilaginous skeleton covered by a thin skin envelope.

Each part of the ear has a specific shape and position that is "standardised" within the population. A deviation from this standard can be considered a defect, despite their relatively unexposed position (ears are located on the sides of the head).

An unsightly ear (non post-traumatic) can be due to excessive size or a cartilaginous anomaly.

This perception is very subjective and experienced very differently by each person. Children and adolescents can suffer significant complexes due to teasing from peers. It is not uncommon for an adult to decide to correct an imperfection that has accompanied them throughout life.

The most common problems related to ear shape:

• Protruding ears that can be corrected by otoplasty
• Earlobe deformity such as a split lobe from earrings, also known as "bifid lobe"
• Abnormal ear shapes such as microtia, macrotia, various congenital deformations up to absent ears (sometimes post-traumatic), can be corrected by highly specialised teams. Dr Weiss does not have expertise in this area and will not perform this type of ear reconstruction.