Forty five-year-old Gaurav Upreti’s professional and personal life began falling apart when he suddenly started experiencing hearing loss back in 2017. Upreti tried hearing aids but nothing seemed to improve his advancing hearing loss. This left him severely depressed.  After struggling for a few years, he decided to approach doctors at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket who diagnosed Upreti with drug induced hearing loss.

This bank executive was painkillers for an ailment since 2016 which according to doctors led to a permanent hearing loss by 2020. The team of doctors led by Dr. Sumit Mrig, Principal Consultant and Head ENT, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket advised him to get bilateral (both ears) cochlear implants.

A cochlear implant is a tiny electronic device that is surgically placed behind the ears to help provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin.

Dr. Mrig, said, “45-year-old Gaurav Upreti started experiencing hearing loss a few years ago. Initially, he used hearing aids but after some time those also did not aid his hearing impairment. This drastically affected his communication skills, affecting his married life as well as his professional career. He then came to us. Upon evaluation we advised bilateral cochlear implantation and after all the audiology testing he got his surgery done.”

Cochlear implant surgery is effective on patients who are congenitally deaf and those who lose hearing due to various external factors including drug induced hearing loss and infections.

Further, Dr Mrig said: “On World Hearing Day (March 3), we want to send out a message that people need to be cautious towards their health, especially the hearing. Upreti’s case is an example where the use of painkillers caused hearing loss. Excess drug abuse, use of painkillers, patients on dialysis, or anti-cancer drugs, persistent noise pollution are high-risk factors of losing the hearing ability if not addressed timely. Sometimes patients reach a stage when no hearing aids help them and then only cochlear implants are the solution. The message is that one should not rely on over-the-counter pain relievers that may cause hearing loss.”

He has significantly improved since his surgery and rehabilitation. Upreti was recently promoted at his work place and also mended his strained relations with his spouse.