Cochlear Implants bring a Smile on the lips of 6 year old Muskan

From: Press Trust (press release) - Bombay,India - Apr 27, 2005

How little Muskan who was born deaf has now benefited from The Cochlear Implants technology

For the Sohar couple Monica and Rajesh, after a lot of heart burn and tears their two children can ultimately be a part of mainstream life. Their two children — eight-year-old Paawan and six-year-old Muskaan were born deaf. And till date even the best of doctors had given up on the two. But with tears welling up in her eyes, mother Monica says, ''Today, our children can hear'' and ''Cochlear Transplant'' has made it possible.

"We were getting ready to go out and I was calling out to my 4 months old daughter Muskaan. I called her a couple of times but there was no response. There was a rush of cold blood in my veins. I was nervous. Is it going to happen all over again with us? This was the nagging thought full of fear that I went to a doctor's clinic where my daughter Muskaan was declared deaf". Says Monika Sohar, Muskan's mother.

Earlier than Muskaan, her brother Paawan was also born deaf. With the discovery of Muskan's problem, Sohars were reliving the same agony and pain and the dark clouds did not seem to giving way to any ray of hope. Paawan's problem was detected just a little before Muskaan. He was on a hearing aid for some time but that was of no help at all.

"I wanted to leave no stone unturned in search of options that could break the silence in my children's lives. My search brought me to Batra Hospital in New Delhi where Dr. Kathuria gave me the hope that not all was lost. "Medical sciences today have developed bigger wonders and a cure for your kids is one of those. Deaf children around the world are today being treated with Cohlear implants. I have myself treated children by inserting cochlear implant and they can all hear now. Said Dr. Kathuria

Muskan's mother then decided to meet a couple of children who had joined the mainstream life after getting a cochlear implant surgery done. These children could not only hear but also go to normal schools, top in their class and do everything that a normal child was doing. Seeing these children joining back the mainstream, Monika decided to get the cochlear surgery done for both Muskaan and Paawan.

Today, Muskaan loves to go out and play in the evening. She dances to the sound of music. She is doing very well in her school.

A few leading hospitals in New Delhi like Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Batra Hospital and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences carry out the procedure. Post implant training is also available. A cochlear Implant has the following features:

Body-worn speech processor

Real time feedback

The LCD display shows whether the processor is functioning and a small indicator light reassures that sound is being received.

Sound equaliser

The unique performance enhancer, Adaptive Dynamic Range Optimisation (ADRO) works much like a graphic equaliser, boosting soft sounds in quiet and making loud sounds comfortable in noise

Lockable controls

Easy to set lockable controls prevent infants and young children from adjusting the settings and disrupting their hearing.

Easy choice

There's a choice of disposable or rechargeable batteries that can be interchanged without replacing the battery compartment.

For more details on cochlear implants log onto www.cochlear.com or contact Medilife Technologies on 011--55307733, -55307734

© 2005 Press Trust