Non-surgical Ear Molding

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What is ear molding?

Ear molding is a nonsurgical method for reshaping the external ear in children born with ear malformations. It relies on using small splints and surgical tape to reshape the ear to the desired shape.

Newborn male before and after ear molding for Lop ear

At what age is ear molding typically done?

Ear molding is best started in the immediate newborn. Ideally within the 1st 3 weeks of life. When started in this time frame, the process typically takes only 6 weeks total to complete. A process can be started in older children up to several months of age but the expected duration of treatment is longer.

How is ear molding done?

When performing ear molding, small curved splints are used to hold the ear in the desired shape and curvature. These are held in place with small strips of surgical tape. The strips of tape are placed not only on the ear, but also on the surrounding scalp to help hold the ear in the correct position.

During a typical treatment course, these strips are changed at 3 weeks to check for any problems and to make subtle adjustments and then reapplied for an additional 3 weeks.

Do you use EarWell(TM)?

I do not routinely use the ear well system for nonsurgical ear molding in my practice. While I do not dispute that this is an effective treatment method for ear molding, I believe that as good or better results can be obtained using simple curved molds and surgical tape without the need for the expense of the EarWellTM system.