A boy, who was suffering from hearing impairedness for both years, and was speechless from birth was relieved from the problem by KIMS Saveera hospital doctors at Anantapur by placing bilateral Cochlear Implants.  Muhammad Irfan, who belongs to the Eduguru village of Thadipatri Mandal in Anantapur district has had a deaf and dumb problem since birth. His parents thought that the problem will subside with growing age. But, as it was persisting, they have contacted Dr Raghavendra Reddy, consultant ENT surgeon, KIMS Saveera Hospital, Anantapur. After doing all the tests, he suggested bilateral Cochlear Implant surgery. The surgery usually costs around Rs 20 lakhs, which is unbearable to Irfan’s father, who is a farmer. But, under the Aarogyasree scheme by the Andhra Pradesh government, children under the age of 5 can get free surgery for cochlear implants. So, the surgery was planned and was performed on the 15th of May. Performing bilateral cochlear implant surgery is the first of its kind in Anantapur. Earlier, such complex surgeries were carried out only in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Now it is being done free of cost through Aarogyasree at KIMS Saveera Hospital in Anantapur. He appealed to district early intervention centres, people and NGOs to take advantage of this opportunity. Dr Subbarayudu, Audiologist Nagireddy and Anaesthesiologist Dr Sudheer also participated in the team. Since it has been two weeks since the surgery was performed, an audio processor device has to be installed on the outside side of the ear. It will be presented in the presence of the District Collector.

Why such a condition?

Dr Raghavendra Reddy said that in general, “In some people, such a condition occurs due to marriages in close relatives, and in others, it is due to genetic factors. Apart from this.. many people also have reasons that cannot be clearly stated. If detected quickly, we will be able to treat it. As a part of this, we will first do the surgery, and put an implant in the inner part. In the outer part, an audio processor that receives the audio signals, and sends them to the implant has already been placed. After that, audio verbal training for almost two years will be there. Then the speech comes out normally. For the training, the government bears the expenses for one year.  Children can grow mentally only if they hear all kinds of sounds in their entirety. All kinds of tests should be done as soon as the children are born. As part of this, a screening test called OAE will reveal whether the cochlea is normal or not. After that, if there is a problem, the rest of the tests should be done. As soon as possible, that means within 6 months to 1 year of birth, the surgery should be done. Only then will it be good to hear, to speak, and to grow the brain,” he said. According to studies, 10 out of every 1,000 people are born with hearing loss. KIMS Saveera MD S.V. Kishore Reddy, CEO P.S. Prasad and others also participated in the program at the collector.