Non-surgical options for ear shape

People ask whether prominent ears can be corrected without surgery. The honest answer depends almost entirely on age, and it is worth being clear about it before you spend money on anything.

The short version

• In newborns and very young infants, ear shape can often be corrected non-surgically by moulding, because the cartilage is still soft. This works, and it is time-critical.
• In older children and adults, there is no established non-surgical treatment that permanently repositions prominent ears. Cartilage has hardened, and changing its shape requires surgery. Devices, tapes, clips and adhesive products sold for this purpose hold the ear in position while worn and do not produce a lasting change.
• Some other ear concerns - stretched or split earlobes, lost earlobe volume - can be addressed with minor procedures or non-surgical treatments.

Anyone offering a non-surgical procedure that permanently pins back an adult's prominent ears is overstating what is possible. We would rather tell you that than sell it to you.

Ear moulding in infants

In the first weeks of life, a baby's ear cartilage is still soft and pliable, partly due to circulating maternal hormones. During this window, splinting or moulding devices can reshape prominent, folded or misshapen ears without surgery.

The critical point is timing. Effectiveness is highest when treatment begins in the first few weeks after birth, and declines steadily after that. By a few months of age the cartilage has usually stiffened and moulding is no longer reliable, at which point surgery later in childhood becomes the option.

Ear moulding for infants is a paediatric service. If you are a parent of a newborn with ear shape concerns, speak to your maternal and child health nurse, GP or paediatrician promptly rather than waiting - the window is short.

Earlobe concerns

Several earlobe problems are treatable outside of ear-shape surgery:

• Split or torn earlobes, usually from a heavy earring or a pulled earring, can be repaired in a short procedure under local anaesthetic. The lobe is repaired and can usually be re-pierced later, at a slightly different site.
• Stretched piercing holes from long-term earring wear can be similarly repaired.
• Earlobes that have lost volume with age, causing earrings to sit poorly or piercing holes to elongate, can be treated with dermal filler. This is temporary and needs repeating.
• Keloid scars following piercing are a medical problem rather than a cosmetic one, and treatment options include intralesional injections, excision and combined approaches. Recurrence is common, and they should be assessed before any treatment.

What non-surgical treatments will not do

Neither dermal fillers, anti-wrinkle injections, thread lifts nor laser treatments change the position or shape of the ear cartilage. They act on soft tissue, and prominent ears are a cartilage problem.

Adhesive ear correctors and clips sold online hold the ear against the head while worn. They do not remodel adult cartilage, and the ear returns to its previous position when they are removed.

The surgical option

Where prominent ears are the concern and non-surgical moulding is no longer possible, otoplasty is the procedure that addresses it. An incision is made in the fold of skin behind the ear and the cartilage is reshaped - often folded and secured with permanent sutures rather than removed. It generally takes one to two hours, and in adults is usually performed under local anaesthetic with light sedation.

Recovery involves bandaging immediately afterwards, bruising and swelling settling over about a week, sutures out at seven to ten days, and a headband worn continuously for one to two weeks then at night for a further four to eight weeks.

Otoplasty at Me Clinic ranges from $7,000 to $14,000. See otoplasty costs.

Before deciding anything

Variation in ear shape and size is normal, and no two ears are identical - including your own. Otoplasty aims for a more balanced appearance, not perfect symmetry, and a surgeon who promises symmetry is promising something anatomy does not deliver.

Where the person considering surgery is a child, Australian law requires additional safeguards for cosmetic surgery on under-18s, including assessment by a registered psychologist, psychiatrist or GP, and a three-month cooling-off period.

Risks

All surgical procedures carry risks and potential complications, including infection, bleeding and haematoma, permanent scarring, asymmetry, over-correction or under-correction, recurrence of protrusion, changes in sensation, suture extrusion, anaesthesia complications, and the possible need for revision surgery.

Minor procedures such as earlobe repair carry risks of infection, scarring, notching of the lobe edge and an imperfect cosmetic result. Dermal filler to the earlobe carries the risks set out on our volume enhancing treatments page.

Please read our information on the risks and complications of cosmetic surgery before proceeding.

Individual results may vary. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

Related pages

See otoplasty costs, otoplasty before and after, or all face procedures.