Anti-deafness drive for newborns

“Bilateral hearing impairment is present in 1 to 3 babies every 1,000 newborn babies in the normal baby population and 2 to 4 per 1,000 babies in the intensive care unit baby population. Remedial measures to treat deafness becomes easy if detected at an early stage,” said Dr T U Sukumaran,president of the IAP.

So far,around 34,000 babies have been screened in Kerala,of which 48 were detected with hearing impairment in the new born period itself. Currently,training programmes are being conducted in the city to build awareness among paediatricians.

“High risk newborns are around 10 times more susceptible to hearing impairment than the rest of the normal population. The longer it takes for detection,there are more chances of the child developing hearing and speaking disabilities in early childhood,” said Dr Renuka Bradoo,head of the ENT department at Sion Hospital.

The babies are screened using a small hand held device called as Otoport. “The purpose of early detection is to ensure that the child’s cognitive and language faculties are not adversely affected. Proper remedial measures like cochlear implants and hearing aids will help in building the child’s communication skills,” said Sukumaran.

If the first round of test shows a defect in hearing abilities,a test is done two weeks later to confirm it. If confirmed,hearing aids and intensive speech therapy sessions are recommended for the child. “Through this drive,we aim to eradicate deafness in the country within five years,” Sukumaran added.