Docs stress on early diagnosis of deafness

MUMBAI: In the backdrop of International Week of the Deaf, observed between September 26 and 30 , doctors have pointed out the failure of parents to read early signs

MUMBAI: In the backdrop of International Week of the Deaf, observed between September 26 and 30 , doctors have pointed out the failure of parents to read early signs of deafness in children.

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The largest municipal hospitals in the city are gearing up to focus on neonatal hearing deficiency, to resolve the issue of deafness at an early stage to help toddlers live a normal life.

The department of ENT (Ear Nose Throat) and Neonatology of KEM Hospital, will start special screenings for ‘high risk’ newborns. The neonatology department of the hospital has already acquired the brainstem-evoked response audiometry (BERA) and Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) machines, and is training the staff members to test children.

“We will start testing children at an early stage so that by the time the child is one year old, he will be able to hear sounds and the hearing impairment wouldn’t affect his speech,” said Dr Hetal Marfatia-Patel, head of ENT department at KEM Hospital.

Medical experts have requested people to do normal tests like clapping hands near the newborns’ ears to check if they are responding and seek professional advice if they aren’t.

BYL Nair hospital has fitted 200 cochlear implants (an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged ear) in toddlers. Dr Bachi Hathiram, HOD, ENT department , said that they have specialized hand-held screening machines that check the hearing ability of every new born. “Our first child who got implants, is perusing engineering. If attended timely, children with hearing impairments can lead a normal life because their speech develops at a normal age,” said Hathiram.