Hi,
Always upsetting when SM's arn't packaged properly for shipping. I had the same thing happen to me on a New Home except the "ears" snapped off. I had to drill a hole slightly lower after removing the needle bar and then chamfering the edges.
To try to straighten out the fragile ears on your machine, heat with a propane torch is certainly better than no heat. Can't say how successful the torch would be as there is not much metal connecting the ears to the needlebar.
One last thing, can you live with the bent part? It's only a thread guide to keep the thread in the bottom hole.
Best of Luck
Jon