BENGALURU: Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the Karnataka government will provide free cochlear implants to 500 children below the age of six, who were born with congenital hearing loss. The minister said the state health department is working on a mission with the slogan ‘Health for All’ to cover every aspect of health and well-being.
“As part of it, a new initiative has been planned to make Karnataka free from hearing impairment. Special attention has been paid to eliminating hearing loss in children under six years of age,” Sudhakar said, reviewing the progress of the ‘Hearing Impairment Free Karnataka’ programme, announced in the 2022-23 budget.
“This year, special attention has been paid to solving the problems of children with congenital hearing impairment, and the government has made all arrangements to provide free cochlear implants to 500 children to improve their speech and hearing ability.
In the current financial year, 1,939 children below the age of six years have been identified with hearing impairment. Most of them have suffered from congenital deafness and the main reason for this is the consumption of medicine, viral infection, suffocation and shock in the mother during the prenatal period,” he added.
As many as 20 hospitals, including KC General Hospital, Indira Gandhi Children’s Institute, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Bangalore Medical College – BMCRI and KIMS Hubli -- have been identified to perform the procedure. “Additional hospitals will be included for free surgery. An honorarium of Rs 250 will be given to Asha workers who help in the identification of such children and aid the entire process,” the minister said.
At present, 652 children have been identified, of whom 586 children are receiving treatment at various levels. “So far, 62 children have been operated on and 258 children are being monitored. Initially, 142 children will be receiving hearing aid treatment,” Sudhakar added.
Beneficiaries are identified by audiology teams working under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD), in collaboration with Mobile Health Teams under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK). Eligible children will be sent to taluk and district hospitals for further evaluation and management, the minister said.