Jack Robertson loves running around in the sandpit with a ball, playing with his six-year-old sister Ella, or reading and listening to stories.

 

The latter is seriously impressive, since the little Australian boy has a congenital ear condition that’s left him without ears!

 

The two-year-old tot from Adelaide was born with microtia atresia, a rare condition that affects the formation of the outer ear. This left him without an external auditory ear canal.

 

But Jack is one of the lucky ones. The condition can leave sufferers with permanent hearing loss, but Jack still has most of his. He needs to wear a hearing aid, though.

 

 

“Amazingly Jack’s inner ears have formed and his cochlears function perfectly, however without his hearing device he hears like we hear if we put our fingers in our canals,” dad Ben told Kidspot.

 

Ben and his wife Amy are determined to give little Jack the best life he can have, which is why they want him to have the best hearing device available, as well as reconstructive surgery by the world’s best surgeons in America.

 

“Microtia Atresia is so very rare and we hope the surgery allows Jack to continue to be the happy, playful little boy throughout his childhood and eliminate the potential bullying that comes with growing up with a difference,” Ben told Kidspot.

 

“Awareness of this condition and early intervention for families is the biggest issue in ensuring children with microtia atresia develop age appropriately.

 

 

“Because of hard work at and therapy with the Cora Barclay Centre in Adelaide, Jack is fortunately developing at or above his age appropriate.”

 

As with many medical treatments and devices, the couple’s dream for their boy is not cheap. The new hearing aid costs $13,000, while the surgery is a whopping $180,000.

 

His parents have started fundraising and so far have raised an impressive $81, 500, but there’s still a fair way to go.

 

“Our first priority once we knew about Jack’s condition was ensuring he had the best bone anchored hearing device to give him access to the full range of sounds clearly like everybody.”

 

 

 

If you’d like to donate and help little Jack, click here.

 

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