Deenanath Mangeshkar transforms 3 lives with cochlear implants -to conduct a free consultation camp from 4th – 9th June 2018-
Pune, 23rd May 2018: Around 360 million people which are 5% of the world’s population suffer moderate, severe or profound hearing loss. Almost 9% which is 32 million of these are children under the age of 15 years. Unfortunately up to 5 of every 1000 infants are born with or develop disabling hearing loss in early childhood. It is also proven that a child with hearing loss cannot develop speech and language abilities. This hampers the child’s learning at school, college and limits future professional opportunities.
Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital recently performed cochlear implant surgeries on three children less than two years of age with profound hearing loss and have helped them transform their lives. The children who have been operated are from Pune, and Latur
The cochlear implant team at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital included surgeons Dr Shabbir Indorewala, Dr. Vikram Oak and Dr Nilanjan Bhowmik, audiologist Nitish Kumar, habilitationists Ms. Vrushali Desai and Mr Govind Rajopadhye and a cochlear implant coordinator, Rewa Indurkar.
The hospital has planned a FREE screening camp from 4th till 9th June 2018. There will be free counselling sessions for parents whose children need help. At the hospital, parents get an opportunity to meet experts from different medical disciplines such as surgery; audiology and habilitation.
A cochlear implant is the only solution that can benefit children with severe or profound hearing
loss. Unlike hearing aids, which simply amplify sound, a cochlear implant system bypasses the
parts of your ear that no longer work properly and delivers sound in the form of electrical signals
to the hearing nerve.
Dr, Vikram Oak & Dr Nilanjan Bhowmik, cochlear implant surgeons, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital said while sharing their thoughts on the matter “There is definitely an urgent need for universal new-born screening in India. Universal new-born hearing screening can identify hearing loss in babies at birth. This makes early intervention possible thereby reducing the trauma of hearing loss. Medical technology has given birth to a great innovation in the form of a cochlear implant that can now restore one’s hearing ability and can totally transform the life of the hearing impaired person.”
“Early identification and treatment of hearing loss is crucial to the development of normal speech amongst young children. It opens the door to integration of these children into mainstream society” said Mr. Nitish Kumar, audiologist, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospita
