EarBuddies were invented in 1990 by Plastic Surgeon David Gault FRCS, one of the world’s leading experts on reconstructive surgery of the outer ear, to treat his newborn son. EarBuddies are designed to be fitted at home by parents, and are also used in some of the most eminent children’s hospitals worldwide, including the NHS (UK), Mayo Clinic (USA), The Portland Hospital (London), and Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard).
By treating babies early and avoiding surgery, EarBuddies provide better results, without risk, at lower cost, and avoid the bullying and psychological trauma that usually leads to surgery. Almost thirty years after EarBuddies were first developed, it is the world’s best selling Early Ear Correction™ system, and has helped thousands of babies to grow up comfortable and confident with their ears.
Stick-out ears like Santi's can make life miserable and lead to "reduced quality of life & self-esteem, social avoidance and poor performance in school." Children and adults are often teased and while names like 'Dumbo, Big Ears, Yoda, Spock & Wing Nut' can be meant in jest, they can have a deeper psychological impact.
Once, corrective ear surgery (Otoplasty/ Pinnaplasty) was the only option, costing up to £5000 for the average UK paediatric case. General anaesthesia and time off school or work are usually needed, and while post-op pain can be managed*, complication rates e.g. scarring can be as high as 10%.*
Now there's an ingenious way to fix your baby's ear problems before they are aware of them, avoiding the emotional impact of bullying & teasing, and the costs & complications of surgery. EarBuddies splints reshape the soft cartilage of baby's ears, resulting in a permanent, surgery-free correction.
We think of it like fitting braces to a child’s teeth, only more affordable and quicker. Newborn babies can get great results in just 2 weeks. If your baby is older, this can take longer. Santi was 5 months old when his mother fitted EarBuddies. 4 weeks later, he can grow up comfortable and confident with his ears.
“I just wanted to share a pic of our EarBuddies results!! My son was 4 months old when we started. I was afraid it would be too late, but after only 20 days wearing the EarBuddies, his conchal crus was GONE. Two months later and it still looks as perfect as the day we took them out. THANK YOU!!”
Read Lauren's Story“We would like to share with you progress of the ear correction of our now 6 months old boy and how happy we are with the results of wearing EarBuddies. We purchased the product when Oscar was 2 months old and he was wearing it for 3 months. We regularly changed the tapes weekly and we followed the instructions. Please see attached pictures:”
Read Magdalena's story here!“Our baby Ava was born with a very noticeable Stick-Out Ear on one side. I later came across EarBuddies online and got started when Ava was 3.5 months old. Once it was in place, I found myself frequently checking the EarBuddies Instagram to find stories of success. Seeing other people’s improvement kept me hopeful during the 12 weeks of her wearing it. Ava has had the EarBuddies off for 3 weeks now (photo included) and we are so grateful for the results! I just really hope we can inspire more families who are going through something similar. Thank you EarBuddies!”
Read Christina's story here!Since Ezra was born, he had a ‘floppy ear’ that he loved to fold over, especially when sleeping. We mentioned it to the medical providers at his initial well-child visit within the first week of life, but they weren’t concerned. His ear didn’t ‘get better’ - it kept sticking out. We tried using silicone tape to keep him from folding the ear, but the silicone tape squished and flattened the cartilage at the top of the ear. So, we again mentioned the concern to his pediatric team who then put in an ENT referral (when he was 4-weeks old). The ENT team rejected the referral, saying Ezra was now too old to consider splinting. So, I researched online to see if there were splinting options we could try on our own - and found EarBuddies. Ezra used EarBuddies from 4 to 7 weeks of age - we had to switch them out twice as they got wet with spit up, but otherwise didn’t have any issues and are very pleased with the result. Thank you!”
Read Stephanie's Full Story here!At least 5% of people have abnormally shaped or Stick-Out ears. Stick-Out ears are the most common ear deformity, and around 2% of babies develop Stick-Out ears in the first 6 months of life. EarBuddies can be fitted by parents at home in under 20 minutes. An independent study at the Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow in 2012 showed a 78% success rate in newborns when splints are fitted by parents, with 73% rating ease of use as 'easy' or 'incredibly easy'. With early splintage and dedication, fantastic results continue to be achieved by parents at home.
When your baby is born, the cartilage framework of the ears is extremely soft because of Mum’s hormones. Some squashing of the ears is natural at birth, but if the ears remain an odd shape after 48 hours, or if they start to stick out, this will quite quickly become permanent as the cartilage hardens. EarBuddies splints re-mould the cartilage folds in a baby's ears to restore the natural curves and hold the ear close to the side of the head so that when the framework hardens in the controlled shape, there is a permanent, surgery-free correction.
While the majority of EarBuddies™ are fitted by parents at home, when professionally fitted and the treatment supervised, success rates rise to up to 92%, even in older babies or those with difficult ear problems.
Professional fitting combines the surgery-free, permanent correction of EarBuddies™ with the clinical experience of trained fitters. Choose amongst our global network of EarBuddies™ Professionals.