Implants can cure deafness

From: Hi Pakistan, Pakistan - Aug 28, 2004

Karachi - Cochlear Implant is a miracle treatment, which restores the hearing ability of the deaf children. This was stated by Prof Dr Lokman Saim, Dean Kebangsaan University, Malaysia, while speaking at a seminar organised by Ziauddin Medical University.

He said the children with less severe hearing loss could be benefited with hearing aids. The available hearing aids work up to a certain limit of hearing defect. For more severe hearing losses there was no option to rectify the hearing disorder before the era of cochlear implants.

Prof. Dr. Lokman Saim said that the speech and language development in children depend upon their hearing ability. Thus the deaf child also have to suffer with a second disability of speech impairment in addition to the problem of hearing. The children with this defect have a problem of malfunctioning inner ear technically called cochlea. The cochlear implant is actually an electronic device, which is surgically implanted in the inner ear, which takes over the function of non-working cochlea he added.

He further said that with this new technology the hurdle in the path of sound is removed and the sound can pass to the brain like a hearing persons. Thus the hearing ability is restored. After this operation the child can develop the ability of speech and can become a productive member of the society instead of passing miserable life as deaf and mute child.

Thus cochlear implant is one of the greatest blessings of modern medical technology.

Professor Lokman Saim also explained different surgical techniques involved in the implantation process. Professor Abbas Zafar of Ziauddin Medical University while welcoming the distinguished speaker stated that the cochlear implant treatment is a miracle of medical technology in treating and rehabilitating deaf children to make them productive members of the society. Dr. Khalid Mahida talked about the drastic effects of deafness on the life of children and the importance of cochlear implant treatment for these children. Dr. Abid Saeed, audiologist, guided the young doctors about new features in the implant systems.

Amina Siddiqui of ZMU emphasized the importance of speech therapy in rehabilitating implanted children and informed that the university would continue to organize such seminars inviting distinguished experts from abroad as well as from our own country.

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