A baby who was born with no ears is unable to have an operation to allow him to hear as Medicare considers it cosmetic surgery and will not cover it.
Andre Tilbaroo was born with a condition called microtia bilateral, which effects one in 25,000 children and means he was born without ear canals.
The 16-month-old boy, who lives in Rockhampton, Queensland, wears a special hearing aid band around his head, and his mother Samantha Jane Bryant has tried to organise an operation for Andre to get 3D ears.
The expensive operation is not covered by Medicare, who consider the operation to be a cosmetic surgery.