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Screening newborns for hearing disability: Ernakulam shows the way

KOCHI: Though Kerala is the first state in the country to make newborn hearing screening mandatory in all government hospitals, Ernakulam district is only one in the state which has all newborns being tested for hearing disability.


The campaign which started almost 16 years ago is an initiative of Kochi chapter of Indian association of pediatrics (IAP).



International cricket legend Brett Lee , who is the global hearing ambassador for hearing implant maker Cochlear, praised the state government for actively working to ensure early detection of hearing loss in children. Around one lakh children are being tested in Kerala every year in 61 hospitals in the state government's maternity centres. Lee was in the city as part of an awareness programme on early detection of hearing loss.

Rizwana P A, a first year MBBS student of Kottayam Medical College who has Cochlear implants in both her ears, said that it is the onus of the parents to ensure proper follow up and speech therapy to guide their children. "I had my Cochlear implant done at the age of five while my brother had it at the age of three. He can hear much better than me. My parents struggled financially to get the implants done. I decided then to become an ENT specialist and help children with hearing problems," said Rizwana.

IAP former national president Dr Sachidananda Kamath said that the Kochi branch was the first organization to start a comprehensive hearing screening programme in 2003 for all the newborns in Kochi. The programme was further expanded as the 'Hearing-Friendly Ernakulam District' in 2014 aiming to reach all the hospitals in the district.

Till April 2019, of the 1,70,168 newborns that were screened, 4,009 babies were detected to have hearing issues. As part of the programme, which was conceptualized by Dr. Abraham K Paul, these babies were referred for confirmatory tests and remedial measures. Now IAP is all set to extend the programme to all other districts of the state. The programme is included in the action plan of IAP national president."

Cochlear implant surgeon Dr Manoj Manikoth, who is also a member of the technical committee of evaluation of hearing loss, said that around 13,500 newborns were detected with hearing problems in the government hospitals and they have been directed for further evaluation of the condition. "All of them need not suffer a permanent hearing loss. Many of them could be corrected. Early detection is important," he said.

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