Re: Will ears get more symmetrical?

[Guest guest]

My son is almost 11 months old and been in his DOCband for about 2 months now.  He also has one ear more foreward than the other.  Right now it doesn't seem to be any different.  The CT technician said that a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th band may not correct it.  She told us that neck stretches for his torticollis were the best way to fix it.  But I'm not sure why the stretches would help.  She also said that some of my son's head shape may be due to his position in utero and not very fixable.  No head is perfect.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 12:42 AM, scrparker <scrparker@...> wrote:

 

I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions. One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet. Thanks!!

[Guest guest]

Hi - my daughter was 15 mm diag diff too - her ears looked way out of shape - this was when she was 5 months old. We did a Starband helmet from 5.5 mo to 14 mo - the longer the better. She is now at about 2 mm off - within the norm of 1-6 mm diag diff. her ears are perfect - we notice NOTHING - her face/eyes etc are super duper - she is our princess - just turned 3 yesterday. I would helmet at 7 mm - but that is me!

Will ears get more symmetrical?

I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet.

Thanks!!

[Guest guest]

Yes the ears can be corrected and I in my experience it was the very

last thing to correct. However I would check with your individual

orthotist. I say this b/c my son had severe ear assymetry (see before

and after docband-joseph in photos or

www.joeysmanicmelon.blogspot.com) and we went to hanger 1st b/c I

thought I would be comfortable going there (local to us) b/c the

orthotist had treated hundreds of kids and treated about 20-30 in a

month. But she told us we would see little to no correction in ear

assymetry. That was our biggest worry. So we called ct and they

explained that ears assymtry is related to the bones at the base of

the skull which are smaller so are harder to work with and take longer

but we would absokutely see improvement. So we opted to go with them.

He went from 15mm down to 5 (and they estimated he would only get

down to an 8). Howvere there are ppl on here who used other hanger

offices and saw ear improvement so that is why I would talk to your

orthotist about what their typical results have been

On 11/11/09, scrparker <scrparker@...> wrote:

> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

>

> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and

> now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her

> forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am

> concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone

> any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

>

> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this

> mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet.

>

> Thanks!!

>

>

--

Sent from my mobile device

-mommy to Emma, Becca, ,

and

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his

hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

Typically ppl don't band till 8 or 9 and the insurances companies

bdont usually cover when lower than that. However I think how it

looks means more than #s and there are ppl here who have banded at 6

and I seriously considered a 2nd band when my ds # were down at 4, 5,

and 6 mm

On 11/11/09, scrparker <scrparker@...> wrote:

> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

>

> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and

> now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her

> forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am

> concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone

> any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

>

> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this

> mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet.

>

> Thanks!!

>

>

--

Sent from my mobile device

-mommy to Emma, Becca, ,

and

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his

hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

Our insurance's cutoff is 6mm and they covered our band. I believe

our official insurance measurement was 7.1mm, but it could have been

8mm. We have Blue Shield. I don't know the details, since my husband

handles the payments.

I agree how it looks means more. We believe our boys have comparable

measurements now, but out of the bath one looks worse.

-Kathy, mom to 17 months treated, and 5 years untreated

both with very mild plagio

Durocher wrote:

Typically ppl don't band till 8 or 9 and the insurances companies

bdont usually cover when lower than that. However I think how it

looks means more than #s and there are ppl here who have banded at 6

and I seriously considered a 2nd band when my ds # were down at 4, 5,

and 6 mm

On 11/11/09, scrparker <scrparker >

wrote:

> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

>

> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm

asymmetry and

> now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2

months. Her

> forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding

out but I am

> concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry).

Has anyone

> any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

>

> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm -

is this

> mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a

helmet.

>

> Thanks!!

>

>

--

Sent from my mobile device

-mommy to Emma, Becca, ,

and

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his

hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a

rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in

2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter.

Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more

breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the

anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened

to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated

STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal

range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I

already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which

the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.

Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has

about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure,

with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only

noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where

Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because

her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about

giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see

heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she

regresses to 4 mm, bingo.

We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense

other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.

Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case

to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants

to be " the ugly one, " by comparison, even if they're both really

beautiful.

--

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after

2.5 months)

On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:

> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

>

> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm

> asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet

> for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of

> her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look

> much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of

> whether her ears will become more aligned??

>

> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is

> this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need

> a helmet.

>

> Thanks!!

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

yes - they are monozygotic twins and they have flattening in the same spot.

With they eyeballed 4mm but the actual measurement was 7mm. It is not

apparent from the front - just a little flat on one side of the back of her

head.

It is interesting what you mentioned about having a rotating helmet - Alyssa's

hanger helmet does that. It seems a lot of people prefer the STAR bands - is

that why you chose to switch?.

>

> > I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.

> >

> > One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm

> > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet

> > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of

> > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look

> > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of

> > whether her ears will become more aligned??

> >

> > My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is

> > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need

> > a helmet.

> >

> > Thanks!!

> >

> >

> >

> > ------------------------------------

> >

> > For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems.  He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left).  But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation.  My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests.  So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st.  They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%. 

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...> wrote:

 

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more

breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal

range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has

about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where

Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see

heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.

Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be " the ugly one, " by comparison, even if they're both really

beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months) On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm

> asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look

> much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of > whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need

> a helmet.>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

I am pretty sure all of my sons plagio is from in utero and it was corrected.  My son also did not have tort but had the ear issues (that were corrected).  His ears corrected in maybe the last 2-4 wks of the band

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 9:55 AM, Rogge <mek10976@...> wrote:

 

My son is almost 11 months old and been in his DOCband for about 2 months now.  He also has one ear more foreward than the other.  Right now it doesn't seem to be any different.  The CT technician said that a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th band may not correct it.  She told us that neck stretches for his torticollis were the best way to fix it.  But I'm not sure why the stretches would help.  She also said that some of my son's head shape may be due to his position in utero and not very fixable.  No head is perfect.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 12:42 AM, scrparker <scrparker@...> wrote:

 

I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions. One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet. Thanks!!

-- -mommy to Emma, Becca, , and A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.  ~Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

oh and for those that dont know, didnt look at the pictures, my sons 1 ear was pushed down, forward and tilted, thats how bad his ear assymetry was

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 9:55 AM, Rogge <mek10976@...> wrote:

 

My son is almost 11 months old and been in his DOCband for about 2 months now.  He also has one ear more foreward than the other.  Right now it doesn't seem to be any different.  The CT technician said that a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th band may not correct it.  She told us that neck stretches for his torticollis were the best way to fix it.  But I'm not sure why the stretches would help.  She also said that some of my son's head shape may be due to his position in utero and not very fixable.  No head is perfect.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 12:42 AM, scrparker <scrparker@...> wrote:

 

I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions. One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of whether her ears will become more aligned??

My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need a helmet. Thanks!!

-- -mommy to Emma, Becca, , and A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.  ~Author Unknown

[Guest guest]

I had read somewhere that reaccurent ear infections was one of the confirmed medical issues attributed to plagio.Sent from my iPhoneOn Nov 12, 2009, at 4:51 AM, Durocher <funwith4@...> wrote:

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems. He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left). But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation. My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests. So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st. They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadlcomcast (DOT) net> wrote:

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more

breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal

range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has

about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where

Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see

heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.

Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be "the ugly one," by comparison, even if they're both really

beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months) On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm

> asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look

> much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of > whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need

> a helmet.>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

he only had 3 ear infections though before he got his 1st set of tubes and all 3 were after he graduated so that makes the situation even weirder

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Diane Wharton <olivepug@...> wrote:

 

I had read somewhere that reaccurent ear infections was one of the confirmed medical issues attributed to plagio.Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2009, at 4:51 AM, Durocher <funwith4@...> wrote:

 

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems.  He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left).  But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation.  My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests.  So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st.  They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%. 

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...> wrote:

 

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more

breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal

range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has

about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where

Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see

heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.

Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be " the ugly one, " by comparison, even if they're both really

beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months)

On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet

> for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of

> whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need > a helmet.

>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

,I don't remember from your previous posts so I apologize if I' m saying something you already know but did you try Chiro & CST? My 4 yr old, no plagio but fluid in ears after ear inf got better after his first CST session. My second, plagio, currently in helmet and candidate for tubes because of rec ear inf has been getting chiro and CSt since aug and has had one ear inf since but no fluid remaining. Still too early to be sure. He's getting a hearing test in a couple wks (fingers crossed) but at least with my first I'm sure it was the CST that cleared the fluid.I've also been told by the ped and cranio specialist that the plagio doesn't have anything to do with the ear inf but both the CST therapist and the occupational therapist disagree ( who also does CST and myofascial). Also like somebody else already posted ( ?) there's the theory that the helmet forces change from the outside while CST helps the change from the inside out. . Tampa, FL, 22 mos( 19 adj), mild plagio, starband for 4 mos + chiro, CST

Plagiocephaly From: funwith4@...Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:41:51 -0500Subject: Re: Will ears get more symmetrical?

he only had 3 ear infections though before he got his 1st set of tubes and all 3 were after he graduated so that makes the situation even weirder

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Diane Wharton <olivepugmac> wrote:

I had read somewhere that reaccurent ear infections was one of the confirmed medical issues attributed to plagio.Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2009, at 4:51 AM, Durocher <funwith4gmail> wrote:

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems. He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left). But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation. My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests. So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st. They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadlcomcast (DOT) net> wrote:

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere. Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be "the ugly one," by comparison, even if they're both really beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months)

On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of > whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need > a helmet.>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

No I havent but I have asked around for Chiro recs b/c I am considering contacting to see if they can work with him even with the tubes.  His prior tubes got clogged and since his articulation has been severely effected (his receptive language is a year ahead so we know he knows what things are but his expressive is at 37%, probably higher but you cant understand him to know if he is giving the right word to mark it right b/c his articulation is at less than 1%, he didnt use a single consanant at the evaluation and he was almost 3 and had been receiving 3 day a week therapy for over a year)

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 3:36 PM, Lulei <cllulei@...> wrote:

 

,I don't remember from your previous posts so I apologize if I' m saying something you already know but did you try Chiro & CST? My 4 yr old, no plagio but fluid in ears after ear inf got better after his first CST session. My second, plagio, currently in helmet and candidate for tubes because of rec ear inf has been getting chiro and CSt since aug and has had one ear inf since but no fluid remaining. Still too early to be sure. He's getting a hearing test in a couple wks (fingers crossed) but at least with my first I'm sure it was the CST that cleared the fluid.

I've also been told by the ped and cranio specialist that the plagio doesn't have anything to do with the ear inf  but both the CST therapist and the occupational therapist disagree ( who also does CST and myofascial). Also like somebody else already posted ( ?) there's the theory that the helmet forces change from the outside while CST helps the change from the inside out. 

  . Tampa, FL, 22 mos( 19 adj), mild plagio, starband for 4 mos + chiro, CST 

  

Plagiocephaly From: funwith4@...Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:41:51 -0500

Subject: Re: Will ears get more symmetrical?

 

he only had 3 ear infections though before he got his 1st set of tubes and all 3 were after he graduated so that makes the situation even weirder

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Diane Wharton <olivepug@...> wrote:

 

I had read somewhere that reaccurent ear infections was one of the confirmed medical issues attributed to plagio.Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2009, at 4:51 AM, Durocher <funwith4@...> wrote:

 

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems.  He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left).  But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation.  My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests.  So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st.  They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%. 

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...> wrote:

 

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more

breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal

range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has

about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where

Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see

heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.

Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be " the ugly one, " by comparison, even if they're both really

beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months)

On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet

> for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of

> whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need > a helmet.

>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

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Chronic ear infections are a classic sign of spinal misalignment. My son (with a normal head shape) got tubes as well. It was after his tubes that a nurse friend of mine took her son to a chiropractor and was able to avoid the tubes. Since then, I've read several case studies about chiro curing ear infections in kids. If we had known about chiro, we definately would have chosen to try that before putting him through surgery.

My daughter (with the plagio/brachy) had a few ear infections, but not as many as her brother did. It is the misalignment at the top of the spine that can cause fluid not to drain from the ear. This is also a crucial area for the head shape. If the head doesn't sit correctly on the top of the spine, it has more trouble rounding out correctly. Since you've already been dealing with the ear fluid for quite some time, why don't you consult with a pediatric chiropractor? My understanding is that it would only take a few weeks of adjustments to fix the problem. Heck, you might get a little bit more correction on the head as well. What can it hurt?

Re: Will ears get more symmetrical?My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems. Hedoesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of theleftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left). But everydoctor we have talked to says there is no relation. My son failed hearingtests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid sogot tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 molater they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallenout, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests. So nextweek he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st. They cannotlet him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation isalready at less than 1%.On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...>wrote:>>> Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a> rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in> 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter.> Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more> breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the> anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened> to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated> STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal> range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I> already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which> the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.>> Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has> about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure,> with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only> noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where> Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because> her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about> giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see> heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she> regresses to 4 mm, bingo.>> We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense> other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere.> Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case> to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants> to be "the ugly one," by comparison, even if they're both really> beautiful.>> --> Thad Launderville> Montpelier, VT> Clara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after> 2.5 months)>>> On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:>> > I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.> >> > One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm> > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet> > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of> > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look> > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of> > whether her ears will become more aligned??> >> > My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is> > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need> > a helmet.> >> > Thanks!!> >> >> >> > ------------------------------------>> >> > For more plagio info

[Guest guest]

That makes sense for the same reason that it makes sense for chiro to be able to fix it. If the shape of the inner ear is affected, then fluid is less likely to drain and an infection will occur. The inner shape of the ear can also be affected by spinal misalignments. I now believe that if we all took our kids to the chiro, we'd find some spinal misalignments up near the head. This is especially likely when tort is present, but my daughter didn't have tort. If I look at CT's pictures in her photostudy, I can tell that her head isn't lined up correctly on her body, but nobody every called this tort since she looks both ways equally. In her recent pictures that I took, this is now fixed.

By the way, our chiro says that spinal adjustments affect the base of the head first so those of you who are concerned that the helmet hasn't treated this enough, you might want to pursue a pediatric chiro consult. I believe that fixing the base is also likely to influence the ears.

Re: Will ears get more symmetrical?

I had read somewhere that reaccurent ear infections was one of the confirmed medical issues attributed to plagio.Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2009, at 4:51 AM, Durocher <funwith4@...> wrote:

My husband still believes the plagio caused(s) my sons ear problems. He doesnt believe his ears will ever be able to go without tubes b/c of the leftover or former (he cant decide which)plagio (only 5 mm left). But every doctor we have talked to says there is no relation. My son failed hearing tests post band (nothing was ever tested preband) , had chronic ear fluid so got tubes last yr (1 yr post band) then 8 wks later 1 tube was clogged, 3 mo later they were both doing ok, then 6 months later they had already fallen out, he already had fluid and was already failing hearing tests. So next week he gets another set of tubes, only a year after the 1st. They cannot let him go any time at all with reduced hearing b/c his articulation is already at less than 1%.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Thad Launderville <p38thadl@...> wrote:

Check out Clara's pictures in the Photos section. Even in a rotating, poorly-cast helmet, her ears seemed to move quite a bit in 2.5 months, and she was significantly older than your daughter. Consider the geometry: if a parallelogram-shaped head gains more breadth than width, the ear-to-ear axis straightens, even if the anterior-posterior axis stays skewed. That seems to be what happened to us. I'm very confident that with the our new, squarely seated STARband, we're are going to be the lucky ones to achieve normal range. (And that would be a change of luck, indeed!) I think I already see the corrective ridge in the her receded forehead, which the defective helmet had no chance of affecting.Are your babies monozygotic twins? Clara's MZ twin Milly Ellen has about 4 mm untreated asymmetry -- well, that's my eyeball figure, with my fingers stuck in her ears, looking down from above. The only noticeable thing on her is a slight prominence on the forehead, where Clara's has receded. I am confident that it won't get worse, because her occiput is round; but even with that, I personally do worry about giving Clara a cosmetic advantage. In the end, I would prefer to see heads like matching bookends: get Clara down to 3 mm, and if she regresses to 4 mm, bingo.We're not in it for cosmesis: Clara had eye problems, and I sense other complications down the road for her if we don't persevere. Milly Ellen is in fact a living doll. Still, I feel there's a case to be made for aiming for a cosmetic match. I'm sure no twin wants to be "the ugly one," by comparison, even if they're both really beautiful.-- Thad LaundervilleMontpelier, VTClara, age 19 months, 2 days in new STARband (failed first one after 2.5 months)

On Nov 11, 2009, at 12:42 AM, scrparker wrote:> I have two 9 month old daughters and I have two questions.>> One of my daughters has moderate plagiocephaly (she had 15mm > asymmetry and now down to 11mm). She has been in a Hanger helmet > for about 2 months. Her forehead is flattening out and the back of > her head is rounding out but I am concerned her ears do not look > much better (a lot of asymmetry). Has anyone any experience of > whether her ears will become more aligned??>> My other daughter has mild plagiocephaly with asymmetry of 7mm - is > this mild enough to leave untreated? My pedi says she doesn't need > a helmet.>> Thanks!!>>>> ------------------------------------ >> For more plagio info