Early intervention for hearing loss will benefit children suffering from deafness and help integrate them into the mainstream world, ENT specialists say.
Bee The Hindu Wellness webinar co-hosted with Naruvi Hospital, Vellore, on Sunday, Nadia Fasal, a consultant in the department of head and neck surgery, said screening newborns using non-invasive mechanisms would help detect the defect early to detect.
“Babies should be screened when they come for their first vaccination so that if intervention is needed it starts within six months of birth. The tests are cost-effective,” she said.
Vikram, a consultant and rhinologist at the hospital, said babies from infancy provided enough cues for caregivers to pick up on. A loud noise would startle a sleeping baby. By the third and fourth months, the baby would make eye contact with the mother and respond to her voice.
“Usually a boy or girl will start making noises by the fourth to sixth month, and if a baby doesn’t, he should sound the alarm,” he explained.
A cochlear implant would help children with inner ear hearing loss, said Manusrut, consultant and cochlear implant surgeon at Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad. An implant is only offered after a thorough pediatric assessment.
“Also, a child with hearing loss in both ears is considered best for an implant,” he added.
The prohibitive cost, the slow process of early intervention, and the difficult path of making sure the child receives auditory and verbal therapy after implantation deter parents from going in for treatment, the doctors said.
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