By Ellen Coughlan for Mailonline

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What are microtia and atresia?Share or comment on this article: Heartwarming moment a baby hears his father’s voice for the first time – and gets the scare of his life

Update: 6:56 a.m. EDT, August 25, 2023

The adorable moment a baby heard his father’s voice clearly for the very first time caused a stir online.

Baby Nellie Rosales, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was born with microtia and atresia, meaning she was completely deaf in one ear and could only hear fainter sounds, but had trouble hear the voices.

So when she was fitted with a ‘bone-anchored hearing solution’ and heard her father Jacob’s voice clearly for the first time.

The video shows Nellie, now 11 months old, being fitted and bursting into tears as soon as she hears her father’s voice.

The device that the doctors installed in him transmits the sound thanks to the vibrations of the skull of the patients, thus making it possible to circumvent the auditory canal.

The video shows Nellie, now 11 months old, being fitted and bursting into tears as soon as she hears her father’s voice.

Little Nellie Rosales, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, heard clearly for the first time as her father Jacob Rosales’ voice (right) went viral (pictured with her mother Sharon)

Dad Jacob Rosales, 28, said: “It was difficult before the hearing aid. Every time I spoke to her, she looked away so she could hear me properly.

“Seeing her hear me for the first time took my breath away. It brought sunshine to my heart, even though she was upset.

According to Jacob, the difference is day and night and Nellie started loving her device within days.

He said, “Now that she’s older, we’re making it something fun.” The difference is clear. She can hear things from other rooms and she also understands what we are saying.

“She hears the dogs outside the house and no longer turns her head.

“She’s at the age where she lets us know what she wants and she’s very excited to put it on.”

Microtia and atresia had a big impact on Nellie’s life before the device was installed.

Microtia results in underdevelopment of one or both ears of a patient and atresia is an underdeveloped ear canal.

Jacob explained: “We noticed from birth that she had a small peanut-shaped ear on the microtia side.

Nellie was born with microtia and atresia, meaning she was completely deaf in one ear and could only hear fainter sounds, but had difficulty hearing voices.

Jacob and his wife, Sharon Hernandez, 27 (pictured) are both members of the US military and are grateful for the health insurance they receive, which enabled them to obtain the device.

According to Jacob, the difference is day and night and Nellie started loving her device within days.

What are microtia and atresia?

Microtia is a term used to describe underdevelopment of the outer ear.

Classic microtia is often associated with the absence of the ear canal – called atresia.

It usually affects one side, called unilateral microtia. It affects the right ear more often than the left.

What is the cause of microtia and atresia?

Microtia or atresia occurs when the outer part of the ear does not fully develop during the early stages of pregnancy.

The exact reason for isolated or non-syndromic microtia or atresia (not associated with other signs or symptoms) remains unclear, although it is usually a random, one-time event.

There are four grades of microtia and atresia:

1st year: Smaller than normal, but the ear has a fairly normal anatomy.

2nd year: Part of the ear looks normal, usually the lower half. The channel can be normal, small or completely closed.

3rd year: Just a small remnant of skin and cartilage in the shape of a “peanut”. There is no canal, which is called auditory atresia.

Level 4: Total absence of the outer ear and auditory canal, also called “anotia”.

Source: www.ndcs.org.uk

“They did some hearing tests at the hospital and she had no reaction from that side.”

Jacob and his wife, Sharon Hernandez, 27, are both members of the US military and are grateful for the health insurance they have, which allowed them to get the device.

Jacob said, “I want to thank the military. The insurance we have is excellent and the device costs six thousand dollars.

“If we hadn’t had the insurance, we would have had to take out a huge loan for the device, it would have been very difficult to do without this insurance.”