KOCHI: Aaradhya was two years old when her parents Vimesh and Geethu noticed she had hearing problems. The little one used to neither respond to the sound of their voice nor react to sudden loud noises.
All that has changed. And Aaradhya has doctors at Lourdes Hospital in Kochi to thank for it.
For it was the team of doctors of the hospital, who, led by Dr George Kuruvilla Thamarappally, performed a bilateral cochlear implant on Aaradhya – aged three years and diagnosed as ‘profoundly deaf’ – using the latest ‘HiRes Ultra Cochlear Implant’ from Advanced Bionics, a global leader in cochlear implant innovation.
Aaradhya used to utter some words that sounded like ‘amma’, giving her parents the false impression she could hear. However, as time passed, Vimesh, an employee at the Kochi airport, and Geethu, a housewife hailing from Nedumbassery, started noticing all was not right with their daughter. It was then they decided to seek medical help.
Post the implant, Aaradhya reacted with wonder and amazement as the HiRes Ultra Cochlear Implant was switched on in the presence of her parents.Dr George Kuruvilla, consultant ENT surgeon, Lourdes Hospital, Kochi, said four out of every 1,000 children in India were born with congenital hearing loss.
“If not treated early, many of the children grow up to be deaf and fail to develop critical speech, language and communication skills as a result. In Aaradhya’s case, she would have developed the ability to speak much earlier had she been screened for hearing deficiency at birth,” he said.
“Unlike most western countries, it is estimated in India seven out of 10 newborns are not tested for hearing loss. Screening for hearing at birth is crucial for timely treatment as it helps children with hearing deficiency grow up on par with their hearing peers,” he said. Even one-year-old children can HiRes Ultra Cochlear Implants, which is crucial to language development in children which generally takes place between ages one and three.
“Unlike hearing aids which make sounds louder, cochlear implants bypass the damaged hair cells of the inner ear to supply sound signals to the brain and are beneficial to people who have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears. The cochlear implants transmit sounds to the hearing nerve, enabling them to hear,” said Tarun Thomas K, director and chief audiologist, Shalom Speech and Hearing Clinic.