Cochlear Implant surgery, which has brought a ray of hope for millions of children who are born deaf, is now available at the SUM Ultimate Medicare here.

The most complex and delicate ENT surgery was done at the hospital recently on a 4-year-old boy from Bargarh who could not hear since birth and did not learn to speak.

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The devastated parents explored different options of treatment at many places but no treatment could be taken up due to the pandemic-induced lockdown and other problems. When they contacted Dr. Radhamadhab Sahu, Senior Consultant, ENT and Skull Base Surgery at SUM Ultimate Medicare, they were advised to go for Cochlear Implant surgery.

The surgery was conducted by posterior tympanotomy method, a minimally invasive procedure that required a very small incision and caused less pain, Dr. Sahu, who conducted the procedure, said.

“This technique helps in quick recovery. The implant was successfully placed and switched on after 21 days,” Dr. Sahu said.

Audiologists Lopamudra Tripathi and Abinish Kumar at the hospital worked on the device under the guidance of Dr. Sahu which was followed by speech therapy for three months. “Now the boy is able to hear and respond to sound. He will learn to speak gradually,” he said.

People across the world face deafness due to issues in the inner ear and the Cochlear Implant – a small electronic device (electrode) that is placed in the inner ear, improves the capabilities of people with limited or no ability to hear, Dr. Sahu said on the eve of the World Hearing Day on March 3.

The theme for World Hearing Day 2022 is ‘To hear for life, listen with care’ which focuses on the importance and means of hearing loss prevention through safe listening.

The key message for the day is that it is possible to have good hearing throughout life by proper ear and hearing care and many common causes of hearing loss could be prevented including hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sounds, Dr. Sahu said.

Besides, safe listening could mitigate the risk of hearing loss associated with recreational sound exposure, he said.