What Are the Ear Buddies

Jonas Hurst: It’s estimated to nearly 5% of babies are born with abnormally shape or permanent ears. I talk with Dr David Gault one of the worlds leading ear specialist, his recent device a very simple device which can solve the problem in the matter of weeks without a need for the stressing surgery. Well, David here today along with Marry Mccloughin and he might have just heard his county wearing David’s ear buddies as we can see alright. Then thing take back in the line will took -- and just a minute David first of all very interestingly tell about how you kind got into this and how can the device ear buddies and sitting with children. David Gault: Yes, interestingly now some is now 14 funny think, if I can describe it sort of like that an abnormal fold in the ear, which is to develop job to treat surgically and we just molded it with the little splint and found it after few weeks and hard in the right place. Jonas Hurst: And ears like. David Gault: Its fun. Jonas Hurst: It’s absolutely fun. So what happen in the past he would just left in the last. David Gault: I think over the last 30 years or so, people have been looking at ways of reshaping the ear, because the ear first is very, very floppy and slack of with piece of paper in ear and as all as you hold the shape of how it is when it is gone on few days after will hard in the position. The moms I think they are responsible for the floppiness, so this is while moms have affects on the coughs as make it particularly wobbly Jonas Hurst: The mother is flaming, real -- So which means with you marry really the whole thing it’s not really in a bracing thing but you worry about your child growing up with slightly on shaped is, so if your babies born with one ear what was the is. Mary McCloughlin: Well be right on particulars for treating. Jonas Hurst: And so that something that you would like to correct for the babies and effect. Mary McCloughlin: Definitely. Jonas Hurst: And so how did you hear it. Mary McCloughlin: One or two case before a six week checks like he referred me to don’t go. Jonas Hurst: Really, It is kind of out there. Is on then ears ENHS David Gault: As far I can really mention ENHS hospital and this brings to fit in. If you lie I’m trying to do after business, you know the neuro surgery is to set up head injuries, many years ago we wear seat belts now and don’t hit the wind screens a lot. So, this is a version of that where we’re trying prevent the air, requiring an operation -- Jonas Hurst: And then was it just answer you having a GP the kind of new about it. Then mommy all told Gp’s know about ear buddies. David Gault: It is nicely as I did that I was sending to and talking about medical school but its one of these things staring to put forward it is a peace of informations for everyone to lack on to, so if you do what you reshape with the surgery they can. Jonas Hurst: Okay this took my ear bone was with up tuning air and difference on just right ear was about this. Mary McCloughlin: I think the other one is in ear protecting to but no anything not expect really. Jonas Hurst: Okay, How can we tell us, how do the ear buddies work I mean you put the splint in the shape here in the correct way and it just stays there whole unit place – David Gault: If you don’t do anything about the early on in life it will just sort of harden in the position it seem and children ran little neck and went to be read about this business. Well it’s a fun but they doesn’t -- and the shoulder comes forward and hits ear when its protect likes it going further forward or sometime sleeping normally, if you just try and control it gently put the splint in which fits in, look at the ear Jonas Hurst: And you leave in 24 hours a day? David Gault: You take it in and you leave a day until types need changing really and that could be three weeks, two weeks whatever, but it is a little splint here and if you take -- after make is but this is a little model of an ear and if you hold that up and the splint would fit just in that little grew there, trying to make it. Jonas Hurst: Let me hold that for -- She leave to just, slide the spent in that, type it in. David Gault: Lot of people don’t have and I don’t know what where we. Over there somewhere, I know lot of people don’t have this fold in this area and it’s sort of about forwards like that. So we try to bend it and create the fold that, and other people the hold bowl of is called problems, you reshape that type it and make that follow and just track the whole ear back. Jonas Hurst: How long have to stand? David Gault: Depends when you start, if you catch the problem of first, I think splint for a little two weeks with when we solve the problem out. Jonas Hurst: So, that for ever. David Gault: Yeah. But lot of the refers bit later on I try not to treat babies six months in older because it right difficult but you’ll see, look at all the advances here you got shoulder has types sticks. The first few weeks of life the baby will stay at night and whatever position you put when it – where is two weeks later they run around a bit. And the first few weeks lots of baby can’t reach of full things to bit. Jonas Hurst: So as a mother Mary you must in kind of worried about during well, you as kind of few things when you worried about the growing up having in on -- but the same time he don’t want to hurt on anyway, we worried about that ear buddy. I mean she is got tape now with simply holding place; doesn’t knowing it can any pain? Mary McCloughlin: I mean its not, I think it comes when he starts to fool of – and I just trying to when its necessary, so its not just change it when it’s necessary so its still might hanging up so when you taking of it doesn’t have too much but he does had a little bit but I think it is so further long really down the line. Jonas Hurst: It’s a great thing, I think for a parents I mean doing it for the right reasons for like I said you’re going to when babies and pressures when I – its kind of bright things to the day but. Mary McCloughlin: I think I’m just looking like when she is older and avoid surgery and then nothing is good thing you know ear buddies were all like about it. Jonas Hurst: What about the research I mean have been insist doctor to get something like 9 out of 10 babies it works for, but have you seen the babies then grow up to know the rights and there has been fine. Do you remain at the examples you’ve looked that have -- for them to grow and see if they as he is still okay David Gault: What you said early on about is a bright thing to the moms to do, is the crucial things. You see if the moms intelligent if the mom does it and keeps the tap on the places when it will either work or have a good chance of work. Mary McCloughlin: A lot can seen improvement already. Jonas Hurst: That’s the sorter thing out, you can see -- Where the mom is a big tentative about doing at, they put it on one night. There well of course it doesn’t wear as well. So what is the kind of maximize with the eldest of baby can be our child can be the you can use the spines David Gault: Firstly, I think its bit difficult beyond the six months because the children do tend to often reach off -- the thing off, but below that age they come with very well one time we put the splint in for photograph and child of 18 months and if you got about it two or three days they have still have a- noticed that was there, so it doesn’t goes great to discover them. Jonas Hurst: And just people that kind of wanted to know that sort of different conditions that ear buddies can be useful a better lot -- but I don’t really know what were these things or they better a lot be cup deformity stall, here, quick social ranking and I mean what all they essentially well I came though each one individually but David Gault: Well lift the ear is all there but its broadly folding you can reshape it with splint, lot of the patients I’m treating don’t have an ear and we make them an ear so that they when work with there you got a reshape something that’s already there. And there is a stalls -- probably do when the sticks out we trying to put it back of that -- hang this down -- Jonas Hurst: If you don’t throw them, I mean is it a problem or is it just something to look out that doesn’t looks in nice. David Gault: Because the ear its self its comfort and receives sounds slightly better but we have conventional things at moment but you don’t look right in the series -- they need. Now if you find the effects are hearing the two. The tapes going to covering a lot of the ear because I would problem when I get that -- that kind of balance; that’s not hearing correctly. Mary McCloughlin: If you got the type I mean I didn’t got in the type that you could -- Jonas Hurst: But if you put very simple -- and you’re still here, I mean it’s not the way blocking up the air canal. We just put -- it was either in a half, you pretty wouldn’t even say that take that -- come with the heart as well. Mary McCloughlin: Don’t come with the -- as well. Jonas Hurst: It actually comes with the -- so this is you are buying ear buddy and it comes with the ear buddies themselves and they has. That’s the sending point. Also when the thing is when people first came out with the idea braces the -- it’s probably very similar if she wasn’t an -- I guess what you want -- ear buddies as normal as braces David Gault: As the people to see a child to take back ear, for to look as normal as a child when -- The things that I think. Exactly trying. Jonas Hurst: Okay long-term results that we have talked about is just a -- is a guarantee it is? David Gault: Its not a guarantee may not work and told, but if you are very intelligent, reshape in the ear there is a really good chance to maintain that shape with ear arms. Jonas Hurst: And the conditions we talk about, I mean these obvious conditions I mean majorly from that, I mean did you know that -- from day one. Mary McCloughlin: More less, yeah. Jonas Hurst: And that is the best time to tackle it. David Gault: It is but you got to be very careful people, uses lot people have missed about because some bag is on actually permanent bud as the head change the shape or regrows in the first few months, may just kick up become from then, so it is not unusual to find two groups of patients some are present at birth and some are present in the couple of months. Jonas Hurst: And also I just as well said that have to wear the hat the whole time you know the space on, but and just the recent story about your son was in. and how old he now? David Gault: 15. Jonas Hurst: 15? David Gault: Is fine. Jonas Hurst: It is a great example. Okay and you will see very happy – continue to using. Mary McCloughlin: Absolutely. Jonas Hurst: Fantastic Mary. Little Eva is been an angle and David thank you very much for coming in. Thanks Mary McCloughlin: Okay.