The Social Perception of Microtia and Auricular Reconstruction

Abstract

Objectives To examine the social perception of microtia and quantify the effect of reconstruction on socially perceived attributes. Methods Parental consent was obtained for peri‐reconstruction photographs in a patient with unilateral grade 3 microtia without an underlying craniofacial syndrome. With computer simulation, the normal, preoperative microtia, and postoperative reconstruction ear were isolated and blended into the oblique and lateral views of that volunteer's face to isolate ear morphology as a variable against a constant facial baseline. These photographs were embedded into Web‐based surveys with visual analogue scales to capture social perception data and then were sourced to general population adults. Results Survey respondents totaled 631. On average, the face with the microtia ear was perceived to be less friendly (P = .015), less healthy (P = .022), and less successful (P = .005) than the same face with the “normal” ear. There were no statistically significant differences in socially perceived attributes between the face with the normal ear and the face with the reconstructed ear. Conclusion This is the first study to examine the social perception consequences of microtia and microtia reconstruction in children. These findings may explain the significant psychosocial distress experienced by these patients by exploring the social perception of specific attributes perceived. Lastly, this study may better inform microtia patients and their physicians on the impact of auricular reconstruction on third party's perception of social attributes. Level of Evidence N/A Laryngoscope, 131:195–200, 2021

Social Perceptions of Pediatric Hearing Aids

“…VAS scores have been used as a tool to quantify social perceptions in prior research in otolaryngology. [8][9][10][11][12] A VAS score of 0 least embodied each characteristic, whereas a score of 100 most embodied each characteristic. A version of the survey was distributed to approximately 200 adults (age ≥ 18) and another version to 200 child respondents (age 10) from within Qualtrics database.…”

“…This cohort size has been previously shown to be sufficiently powered to detect VAS changes between photographic conditions. 8,10,12 Demographic targets for adult respondents queried were 1:1:1 for age brackets 18-34, 35-55, and >55 years; 1:1 for male to female gender identity; and approximately 66% White or Caucasian, 12% Black or African American, 12% Hispanic or Latino, and 10% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander/Asian/Other. Child respondents queried were all 10-years-old, 1:1 for male to female gender identity, and 2:1 ratio for White or Caucasian to Non-Caucasian race.…”

“…Of note, one Caucasian, male patient was used for this study, which is standard in social perceptions research. 8,12 Increasing the number of subjects to be generalizable to all Caucasian boys of different ages would statistically require a large increase in subject number, which is beyond the scope of this study. For the same reason, this study does not comment on the effect of race/ethnicity or gender on social perceptions of pediatric HAs.…”

“…For example, web-based methods of capturing public perception were used to investigate the effects of microtia and auricular reconstruction on perception of social attributes. 8 Here, we use these methods to capture how the general public perceives pediatric HAs. Specifically, we use a web-based platform to measure how HAs affect the perception of athleticism, confidence, friendliness, health, intelligence, leadership ability, popularity, and overall success in a 10-year-old male patient by general public adults and peers.…”

Epidemiological Study of Neonatal Congenital Microtia in Shandong Province, China, 2011–2020

“…5 Congenital microtia seriously affects the physical and mental health of children, and also increases the medical burden of society. 6,7 Studies have found that congenital microtia is more likely to occur in the Spanish and Chinese populations. 8 However, there are not many epidemiological studies on these 2 groups of people with congenital microtia, especially the relevant epidemiological studies on Chinese newborns.…”