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.
“Our son, Laureano, was born in March 2020 right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. He was born with stick-out ears and one flop ear. Our midwife suggested EarBuddies after a disheartening conversation with our family doctor suggesting corrective surgery several years in the future. We did our research and ended up getting an EarBuddies professional fitting with Dr. Damen at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen. It is a 2 hour drive from our home, each way, but so totally worth it. We are so very pleased with the outcome after 3 months of treatment. Thank you so much, EarBuddies!”
Pilar, Lars & their Son Laureano - The Netherlands
Read their full story here!“We had an incredible transformation using EarBuddies and we would highly recommend. Killian is now 10 months old and we have no regrets with our decision to splint his ear at 1 month of age. We found the entire process with EarBuddies so straightforward and easy from the start. At birth we noticed Killian's right ear looked different from the left. As the days went on we couldn’t help but think of the ‘what if’s’ and wonder if he would be bullied for his ear deformity. After discussing with our pediatrician and Boston Children’s Hospital, we decided this treatment would be best.
We splinted Killian's ear for about 4 months and once removed we didn’t notice any regression! It is truly amazing to look back on the results. We would highly recommend this process as it was so seamless and gave our baby life long results! Thank you for all of your help & support!”
Molly, Tyler & their Son Killian - Boston MA, USA
Read their story here“When Remy was born his ears were folded up at the bottom. The doctors told me they would ‘right’ themselves but as time went on and Remy was sleeping they were folding over and were getting worse. He has little ears but they were just growing like little cups! I researched what I could do for them and stumbled across EarBuddies. I wish I had found them earlier but was just so pleased I had an option to try before he got too big.
We started Remy’s ear journey at 6 months and 1 day old. As you can see from the pictures, his ears are so much better. I am so happy I found EarBuddies. It’s such a shame not many people know about them, no one I’ve spoken to knows about them and they are just fantastic. Thank you from a very happy mummy and daddy. I can’t wait to show Remy when he’s older and I’m sure he will thank us for putting him through 5 months of tapes when he sees the before photos!”
Lisa, Ben & their Son Remy - Staffordshire, UK
Read Lisa'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.