Girl with no ears denied hearing aid
15-month old Samantha Collins has Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects the growth of her facial bones. She was also born without ears – she doesn’t even have holes that would lead into the ear canal on the side of her head.
Currently, Samantha has a standard hearing aid that her parents strap to her head using a bandage. This allows her to hear some noises but the bandage doesn’t stay on an active baby’s heard for long. The answer is a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) that would be fixed to Samantha’s head and wouldn’t move.
Unfortunately the Collins family’s medical insurance company, United Healthcare, are willing to pay for the surgery to implant the hearing aid, but are not willing to pay for the device itself.
Without the hearing aid, doctors say Samantha will likely never learn to speak. As it is, the only sounds she makes is the banging together of toys and some petite squeals.
