Hazel's Story
My name is Hazel Jane Cotter, I was born on July 16th, 1998 ( I’m 28 years old). I was born with right sided microtia.
My mother opted not to explore any reconstructive or surgical options as these were still in development at the time. I am personally thankful for that choice now, due to my positive and transformative story of acceptance, which wouldn’t of been possible had I opted for reconstruction.
My early years were very normal, I adapted and actually excelled in creative fields of art and music, singing through most of my primary and secondary years. Something that often surprised my teachers was that I was able to sing and play well, despite my hearing being impaired on one side.
Unfortunately I was bullied, but actually more for my ” lazy eye” than my microtia, hair conveniently covered my microtia so didn’t draw much attention, and that was something I took advantage of in my teens, often choosing to wear my hair down.
My microtia is between grade 2-3. I have most of my lobe development and upper cartilage structures have formed to a degree, which I feel often helped it blend in and not be noticed.
Over the years, my microtia has become my normal- both in how I live my life and my appearance, and I actually began to think nothing of it. Not necessarily positive or negative thoughts, just that it was a part of me.
However, that drastically changed as I entered my career as a professional body Piercer. Piercing and tattoos had long fascinated me as a way to express myself and feel more aligned with how I wanted to present myself. Through working with a myriad of ear anatomies and speaking with other piercers, I suddenly found myself in a world where uniquely shaped anatomy was actively celebrated, with industry peers of mine endlessly eager to pierce my unique ear.
These questions lead me to try and find an answer by working on my own microtia ear , and allowing others to pierce it. I strongly feel being able to pierce my microtia ear helped transform my vulnerability into power and ownership over my body, allowing me to take something I would hide and show the world.
Last year, I made the decision to teach at the UK Association of Professional Piercers after I had started to do some personal research into Microtia, this lead me down an incredibly interesting journey looking at the hillocks (little lumps that we have in the womb that eventually form into our outer ear!) and I suddenly realised that there were so many different ear shapes, developments and characteristics out there and that my industry could benefit from this fundamental knowledge.
I taught this class in September 2026, and it truly changed my life. The positive reception and messages I’ve gotten from piercers and their clients as a result of my class has been so moving. To help spread self acceptance and also give piercing professionals the confidence to deliver that to their clients with different ear developments is wonderful. It also felt empowering to talk about my own lived experience, and how amazing it has been to come into an industry that actively celebrates our physical differences.
At the end of my class, a good friend & colleague had recommended I look into groups or charities to further explore and understand different experiences, this lead me to joining the UK Microtia mingle group and reaching out to Microtia UK. It’s been a wonderful resource and has allowed me to feel a connection and understanding with fellow individuals I didn’t know I needed.
My aim is to continue my research by opening up conversations within the microtia community about piercing and what options people with microtia may have if they would like to get pierced. I would also love to hear from those who have been pierced and if they noticed anything about their healing, comfort or the sensation when getting pierced.
On top of this I would love to connect with those who have had ear reconstruction, and have more dialogue around what opportunities or limitations they may have with ear piercing. I know that reconstruction vastly limits what’s possible, usually an individual can only pierce the lobe area- assuming this tissue was a part of their original lobe structure. Piercing the reconstructed structure is strongly discouraged as this could cause infection or damage the reconstruction.
Ultimately, my goal to provide the community with a supportive dialogue around piercing from someone with the condition who is a professional Piercer, as well as provide me with invaluable insight that I can pass onto my piercing community, enabling more Piercers to work confidently, safely and joyfully with their microtia clients.
My parting words would be, self acceptance comes in so many forms- not just piercing. It has allowed me to celebrate my differences and I hope everyone finds their own special way to do that.
You can find my piercing work and more about me by visiting my Instagram which is @botanical.piercer.
I am always open to messages with any questions regarding microtia, and would love to hear from you!
