* Hero Naga Chaitanya attends as the chief guest

* 430 million hearing impairedness victims worldwide

* Cochlear implanting is the proper remedy

As per the World Health Organization’s estimation, around six percent of the global population that is around 430 million people are suffering from partial or complete Hearing Loss. This number is projected to almost double by 2050 to around 700 million!

When a baby is born without hearing capacity, it is defined as Congenital Hearing Loss. It affects their Speech and Language Development. It needs to be identified and treated as the earliest.  It is seen that out of 1,000 newborns, three to four are born with severe to profound hearing loss while six to seven percent have mild to moderate hearing issues. If the hearing is affected by 90% or more than that, one of the best treatment options is “Cochlear Implant”. This is an electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.

In India, every year more than 1 Lakh children are born with severe to profound hearing loss. Most of them need cochlear implant surgery to improve their speech and language skills. To date, there are only 35,000 to 40,000 cochlear implant recipients there. Every year approximately 5,000 people undergo cochlear implant surgery. That means only 5% of them are undergoing proper treatment, and there is a lack of awareness and funding options for the rest of the population.

KIMS hospital is providing services for Severe to profound hearing loss candidates by providing cochlear implants under private and government schemes. In 2021-22, KIMS hospital has done around 150 cochlear implant surgeries including several bilateral (both ears) surgeries. To create more awareness on identifying hearing loss, and getting proper treatment at the earliest possible, Secunderabad KIMS hospital conducted a “Cochlear Implant Recipient Meet” on Sunday. Several children, who have got cochlear implant surgeries met in one place. Many of them gathered together and took up various cultural activities, including games, songs, and dances. Tollywood hero Naga Chaitanya attended as the Chief Guest of this program and encouraged the children. Chairman and Managing Director of KIMS hospitals, Dr. B.Bhaskarrao, Head of the ENT Department Dr. Janardhan Rao, Chief Audiologist Sivaprasad and staff graced the occasion.