A man who was nicknamed ‘Turbs’ by friends who compared his ears to wind turbines has finally had them fixed at the age of 52.
Tim Dickens from Leavenheath, Suffolk, got fed-up of being teased over his protruding ears and underwent a dramatic £3,250 pinning procedure at The Private Clinic on London’s Harley Street.
The bilateral EarFold procedure involves inserting 24 carat gold plated implants into the ear to change their shape and position – and Tim says he is delighted with the results.
Tim, a technical instructor, told how even his friends and cricket teammates had teased him about his large ears over the years as he suffered a ‘lifetime of self-consciousness’.
Transformation: Tim got fed-up of being teased over his protruding ears and underwent a dramatic £3,250 pinning procedure at The Private Clinic (pictured before, left, and after, right)
Protruding ears are believed to affect around 100 million people worldwide and have been shown to have a considerable psychological impact on people such as Tim, who suffered from a young age.
Speaking about his own experience, Tim told FEMAIL: ‘Children were quite mean, particularly because they never had a filter and could easily say nasty things that took it too far.
Even Tim’s friends within his own cricket team, where he had been a member for over 25 years, ridiculed him and referred to him as ‘Turbs’.
‘They would often joke and ask me to find out which way is downwind so they could bowl that way,’ he said.
Tim on his wedding day. He said: ‘On the day of the treatment I was excited to know that I would be leaving the clinic with my new ears, and leaving a lifetime of self-consciousness behind me’
Tim, a technical instructor, told how even his friends and cricket teammates had teased him about his large ears over the years as he suffered a ‘lifetime of self-consciousness’.
Tim got fed-up of being teased over his protruding ears (pictured here before) and underwent a dramatic £3,250 pinning procedure at The Private Clinic on London’s Harley Stree
Tim pictured before the op. He said: ‘Children were quite mean, particularly because they never had a filter and could easily say nasty things that took it too far’
With the support of his wife, Tim eventually visited Mr Brian Musgrove, Consultant Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgeon at The Private Clinic.
The treatment was performed under local anaesthetic and used gold-plated implants which were inserted by the physician underneath the skin.
The implants are gold-platedto ensure they undetectable through the thin skin on the ears.
The procedure took around 20 minutes and required a very small incision and a few stitches that do not need to be removed.
Tim added: ‘On the day of the treatment I was excited to know that I would be leaving the clinic with my new ears, and leaving a lifetime of self-consciousness behind me.’