Born June 1979, with bilateral atresia of the ears and pulmonary stenosis; doctor said I was blind, retarded, and deaf; he didn't expect that I'd live very long. He was right about the deaf part. Bilateral means symetrical; atresia means, roughly, "a closing of"; so bilateral atresia of the ears means that both ears are closed up... In my case, i had no holes on either side of my head -- no ear canals. At about 5 yrs of age, I had a series of operations to open up my right side, so i could hear a little without the bone conduction hearing aid that i depended (and still depend) on. Since then, I had about ten operations at ten years of age to "rebuild" my external ears with cartlige taken from my ribs; reshaped; and covered with skin taken from my buttocks.
Currently; I'm a student at a local community college; pursuing a degree in biology.