When do ears become prominent?

Non-hypoplastic congenital ear deformities are amenable to non-surgical treatment with splinting in the neonatal period. It is therefore important to determine when the deformity occurs. 100 postal questionnaires were sent to parents to study, retrospectively, the evolution of the prominent ear deformity in their children. 79 questionnaires were returned. As remembered by parents, the deformity was first noted at birth in 48 (61%) children, in 68 (86%) by 6 months and in all cases by 5 years. Therefore a large number of patients with prominent ears could be treated effectively, non surgically, early in life, without anaesthetic and with minimal cost.