Born With an Underdeveloped Ear, Little Braelyn Waited Years Before Asking Her Parents for a New One

When Danielle and Joseph welcomed their daughter Braelyn, doctors discovered something that had not appeared on any of the ultrasounds during her closely monitored pregnancy.

The newborn’s right ear was underdeveloped, and her ear canal was closed.

She had two congenital conditions known as microtia and atresia, which caused significant hearing loss in her right ear.

Born prematurely, Braelyn spent her first weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit while her family began learning what her diagnosis would mean.

A Tiny Ear That Doctors Hadn’t Seen Before Birth

Microtia occurs when the external ear does not develop completely during pregnancy. Atresia involves an absent or closed ear canal, which can prevent sound from reaching the inner ear normally.

For Braelyn, treatment required more than reconstructing the visible ear. Her medical team also needed to address her hearing and monitor her communication development.

Physicians at Boston Children’s Hospital began coordinating her care while she was still in the NICU.

Learning to Hear With a Special Device

At approximately three years old, Braelyn received a bone-conduction hearing aid.

Unlike conventional hearing aids, this device transfers sound vibrations through bone to the inner ear.

Although helpful, the headband-style hearing aid presented practical challenges. It could shift, interfere with her hair or become uncomfortable when she lay down.

Around the same time, doctors diagnosed Braelyn with velopharyngeal insufficiency, a condition affecting the closure between the mouth and nasal cavity during speech.

She underwent pharyngeal flap surgery with Dr. John Meara to help improve her speech.

The Day She Asked About Her Little Ear

As Braelyn grew, her parents continued considering whether she might eventually want ear reconstruction.

They chose not to rush that decision.

Danielle explained that Braelyn had always known she had a smaller ear, but it had not bothered her during early childhood.

That changed when she was approximately six and a half years old.

Braelyn began asking questions about her ear and expressed a wish for it to look more like her other one.

Her parents decided it was time to explore reconstructive options with her.

Two Specialists, One Carefully Coordinated Surgery

At Boston Children’s Microtia Program, Braelyn’s family met plastic surgeon Dr. Carolyn Rogers-Vizena.

The team proposed reconstructing her external ear using Medpor, a porous synthetic material covered with the patient’s own tissue.

To reduce the number of separate operations, Dr. Rogers-Vizena coordinated with otolaryngologist Dr. Gi Soo Lee.

During the combined surgical treatment, the team reconstructed Braelyn’s ear and placed a more secure bone-anchored hearing system behind it.

The approach addressed both her ear’s appearance and her access to sound.

Helping Other Children Love Their Special Ears

When Boston Children’s published Braelyn’s story on June 26, 2023, she was eight years old.

She was an energetic girl who enjoyed school, loved her younger sister Kamryn and rarely stopped moving.

Her mother reported that the reconstructed ear and improved hearing device had strengthened Braelyn’s confidence.

Braelyn was also excited to share her experience with other children who had similar ear differences.

What began with an unexpected discovery in the delivery room had become a journey involving hearing care, speech treatment and a reconstructive decision Braelyn herself helped initiate.

Source: Boston Children’s Hospital, June 26, 2023 — Overcoming Microtia, Atresia, and Speech Challenges: Braelyn’s Story.