Imagine
you are watching a live cricket match with exciting commentary, buzzing action
on field and on the stands. Now replay the same scene on a mute button. Absolutely
no fun and the silence is deafening, isn’t it?
This is the void of
silence that fills the life of a hearing impaired person. Unable to comprehend
and freely communicate, he is deprived of the simplest and most basic joy of
life a normal person takes for granted.
The WHO estimates
that worldwide 360 million people have
a disabling hearing loss, out of
which 32 million are children.
Up to 5 of every 1000
infants are born with or develop a disabling hearing loss in early childhood
and over 90% of these hearing impaired children are born to normal parents.
I was fortunate to
attend an eye-opening event hosted by Cochlear India on 14th May
2017 at Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Mumbai as a part of a blogger team.
This amazing event was
conducted to create awareness and to celebrate the success and achievements of
the several recipients who have received a Cochlear implant – A
#CochlearCelebration. It also brought to light so many hitherto unknown and
neglected facts about hearing loss.
Event Inauguration:
The event was kick-started
by an effervescent introduction by Isha
Vartak and a classical dance performance by Sharanya Manoharan, both Cochlear recipients.
The event was graced
by dignitaries and philanthropists Mr.S.Ramadorai, Mr. Arun Nanda, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Mr. Bharat Shah
and many others who generously support the cause of ihear foundation dedicated
to helping the hearing impaired.
Address by Dr.Milind Kirtane:
Dr Milind Kirtane, renowned ENT surgeon, Padmashri
awardee and the incredible man behind the ihear
foundation, shed
light on various aspects of hearing loss.
Causes of hearing
loss:
The Cochlear implant is an electronic device inserted into the ear in a straightforward medical procedure. Because it functions by bypassing the damaged parts of the inner ear, a Cochlear implant can provide hearing when hearing aids can’t. They can in fact provide around seven times better hearing performance than hearing aids.
A
Cochlear implant is an established, effective and long-term hearing solution
for people with severe to profound hearing loss. Quite simply, it is a miracle that brings
sound into silent lives!
The BEST Approach to tackle hearing
loss:
Dr Kirtane shared the
four-fold approach termed BEST to
tackle hearing loss.
B – Bilateral Cochlear Implantation
E – Early Intervention
S – Smart Hearing Partner
T – Therapy to follow up post implant
involving Speech and Audio therapy
Expert Session and Panel Discussion:
Audiologist Nishita Mohandas emphasized the importance of having bilateral (both ears) cochlear implants.
A unilateral implant functions
normally and enables you to hear just like you should, but imagine having to
hear with only one ear or see with only one eye. It’s restrictive and the
vision remains incomplete. Bilateral Implantation ensures perfect hearing.
The challenges with a
unilateral/single ear implant would be,
SAFETY – Important in situations like
crossing a road where the traffic is coming from both the sides.
HEARING IN
NOISE – Focusing on a particular voice amidst
noise, e.g teacher’s voice in a classroom filled with other external and
internal noises.
FATIGUE – The
brain expends a lot more effort when it has to process information from a
single ear alone, resulting in brain fatigue.
Early detection – As early as a new-born, and not
later than 6 months old, a child needs to be screened for early signs of
deafness. The test involved is simple and highly effective.
Vaccination – Protecting the child with vaccines
against potential infection such as Meningitis
and Influenza.
Early Decision – Early detection of hearing loss
followed by early decision to have implantation done can greatly influence
child’s learning ability, since brain development and cognitive abilities are at
their prime in the first three years of life.
An illuminating panel
discussion comprising of Dr. Soonu Udani (Paediatricians and Intensivist), Ms.
Geeta Char (Paediatric Audiologist), Dr Samir Dalwai (Paediatrician) tackled
some rather important aspects of hearing loss.
Here, Dr Kirtane shared the
example of Swara Pathare of 1.5 years who has recently undergone successful implants. He
emphasized the importance of following up the implant procedure with dedicated
Speech Therapy.
Ms. Shefali Shah,
Director of Sound Steps, a leading early intervention Center for hearing
impaired, shared the importance of the role of Parents in therapy.
Success stories of Recipients:
It was a heartening
sight to watch chirpy Divesh Indulkar, charming Jehan Deboo, intelligent Sunny
Shah, champ Rujal Jain, bubbly Kuhu Deshpande, cute Nupur Chowdhary, smart
Vedant , sweet Shravani Mahajan, talented Bhagyashree Mohan, vivacious Shanice
Fernandes, sporty Nabha Wamburkar and danseuse Palak Berad – All Cochlear recipients with success
stories of fulfilling great achievements and nurturing bigger dreams, despite
their hearing affliction.
The happiness, achievements and
success of these children were possible, simply because their parents took the decision to
intervene early and go in for Cochlear implants when they were very young.
Cochlear, the World leader in cochlear implants:
Coming to the brand
itself, Cochlear is the global leader in cochlear implants, delivering
over three decades of implant innovation to millions of people worldwide.
Cochlear is built upon a foundation of success. Over 450,000 people of all
ages, across more than 100 countries, now hear because of Cochlear. Cochlear is dedicated
to bringing the gift of sound to people with moderate to profound hearing loss.
The Cochlear hearing
system consists of a surgically placed Cochlear implant and an external sound
processor.
The Cochlear Profile Series implant is the world’s thinnest at 3.9mm thickness and their Nucleus C124RE is the most used cochlear implant in the world with a 99.1% reliability record. This system is so advanced that it allows your child to hear by cutting through the background noise and streaming directly to the sound processors – super-hearing, thereby helping them dream big and achieve those dreams.
The Cochlear Profile Series implant is the world’s thinnest at 3.9mm thickness and their Nucleus C124RE is the most used cochlear implant in the world with a 99.1% reliability record. This system is so advanced that it allows your child to hear by cutting through the background noise and streaming directly to the sound processors – super-hearing, thereby helping them dream big and achieve those dreams.
Kanso® Sound Processor:
Cochlear’s latest offering, the Kanso® Sound Processor is the ideal hearing solution for children and adults.
Kanso® is so discreet it's barely noticeable, so small and comfortable; your child can forget he is wearing it. Kanso® is a hearing solution that gives your child the confidence to live his life to the full and you the peace of mind that he will be able to join in with his friends and explore his potential to the fullest. Combined with the wireless accessories and versatile remote functions, it is an unbeatable product to combat hearing loss.
Watch this video to understand how Kanso® works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUxQaO0Ltac
For more information: Kanso® Sound Processor
The Cochlear Family:
The happy stories and
testimonials of all the Cochlear recipients’ leads back to a very crucial and
integral part of the therapy and that is Support.
Cochlear as a brand is dedicated to providing the best support. The recipients receive the best lifelong hearing
experience and access to innovative future technologies.
For an A+ hearing experience, Cochlear offers,
Support with (Re)habilitation
Access to Industry Experts
Recipient support
Service and Repairs
The Cochlear Community
Cochlear’s support mantra is quite simple
Hear now and always.
Your family is part of our family, for life.
The event culminated with a heart-warming vision of all the Cochlear recipients coming on stage along with the incredible Dr Kirtane. The happiness, warmth, pride and genuine bonhomie shared by the recipients and their families with their doctors, therapists and Cochlear was indeed touching.
I came away from the event with one line firmly etched in my mind,
Films can be sub-titled, life cannot!
If you are a parent of an infant, ensure he is screened for the universal new born hearing screening. If your child or any other child you know is affected, do not wait.
Bilateral Implantation, Early intervention and Therapy is the best solution. Importantly, going in for the best available hearing partner, one who will help and support you all along.
References:
http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/in/home/understand
Disclaimer:
This is a sponsored post. In
all sincerity, I have reported facts gathered from Cochlear India.
Readers are advised to use their own discretion regarding usage of the
above information.
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