EARLY SCREENING & COCHLEAR IMPLANT RESTORES HEARING AND SPEECH

Chennai,
3rd February 2024.

Newborn hearing screening at birth holds paramount importance as it allows for early detection of hearing impairments. Identifying hearing issues in the first few days is crucial because it enables early initiation of appropriate interventions such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, said Dr. Prasanna Kumar, HoD, ENT, Head and Neck Surgery at the 18th Anniversary of cochlear implant programme of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research here today. All children born at Sri Ramachandra Hospital are tested at birth for hearing loss and this has resulted in detection of nine such children in the last five years, of which 5 children had intervention through cochlear implant surgery and are now hearing well and growing up like normal children. For best results it is ideal to do cochlear implant surgery <2 years of age and continuous habilitation training. With the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and Ayushman Bharath programme of the government of India such children can get free cochlear implant surgery. So far over 300 cochlear implant surgeries were done at Sri Ramachandra Hospital in the last 18 years, he added.

On this occasion three children who have cochlear implant in one ear through the government Scheme  were given free hearing aids for the other ear by GN Hearing. This combination allows hearing through both ears and for a more natural and balanced auditory experience. Over fifty cochlear implant children from all over Tamil Nadu performed various cultural programmes displaying their speaking, singing and dancing talents. The performances highlighted the impressive abilities these children have acquired following the restoration of hearing.

Prof. Roopa Nagarajan, Registrar, Dr. P. Surendran, Medical Superintendent, Prof. Prakash Boominathan, Principal, Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology and Dr.Jayashree Seethapathy, Head, Department of Audiology were among those who participated in the event.

……………..

Issued by Mr. T.G.Nallamuthu, Consultant, and Media Relations, SRIHER 9444265578, 9940399346.