One out of 1000 children suffers from deafness in the state, cochlear implants can prove to be a boon
Updated: Jul 16th, 2023
On average, one child out of 1,000 children faces congenital deafness in Gujarat, while the number of children who gradually become deaf after birth is on average 1 in 5,000, according to doctors.
Cochlear implants prove to be a boon for these deaf children. 14 babies were able to hear a word for the first time since birth after receiving cochlear implants at Ahmedabad’s Sola Civil Hospital in the last four days.
‘Cochlear Implant Week’ started on July 10th at the hospital. As a part of that, 14 children between the age of one and five have had cochlear implant surgeries in the last four days.
The hospital’s ear-nose-and-throat (ENT) department aims to perform cochlear implant surgery on more than 18 children by July 22. A total of 150 children have undergone cochlear implant surgery in the last 15 years, including 50 this year.
The head of the ENT department of the hospital, Dr. Nina Bhalodia said, “Usually in the second to eight weeks of pregnancy, if any kind of viral-bacterial infection occurs, any medicine is taken without doctor's advice, or if the parents are close relatives, the child may get congenital deafness.”
“Apart from this, if the child gets brain fever or slurred speech, there is an average risk of deafness in 1 in five thousand children. A brain stem auditory evoked response (BAER) test is the best option to test if a child has congenital deafness. This test can be done at any health centre, medical college, or ENT surgeon when the baby is six months old.” She added.
After the surgery, children also need to undergo rehabilitation for speech therapy. Throwing light on that, Bhalodia said, “If the child has deafness, it is necessary to provide treatment as soon as possible. In the last four days, cochlear implant surgery was performed on 14 children. They will be listening in the next two weeks. After this, they will be rehabilitated for the next two years, in which they will be given speech therapy. Lakhs of rupees have to be spent for the same surgery in a private hospital.”
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