Karnataka will be made ’deafness-free’ state: UTK

 

Mangaluru, 11 Jul 2015: The state government has taken up the mission of making the state hearing impaired-free and this project has been started off in Dakshina Kannada on pilot basis.

 

 

Addressing the reporters on Saturday, Minister for Health U T Khader saidon Saturday that in this regard a camp was held at Natekal Primary Health Centre four months ago, where 35 out of 125 children were identified with complete loss of hearing capabilities. Out of these 35 children, 10 were given cochlear implant free of cost, under the Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) Scheme.

 

Khader urged the parents to ensure that their children are detected for hearing disabilities at an early age. He said that system will be made available in hospitals in all the districts in Karnataka to identify the hearing impairment in new borns.

 

An audiology policy will also be brought in place to make the testing mandatory in all private hospitals, Khader added.
Cochlear implant surgeon and appointed member of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness Dr J M Hans said that in Karnataka a total of 50 cochlear implants have been performed so far, out of which 40 were funded by the CM’s and PM’s funds and 10 by other programmes. He also said that speech therapy will be expanded to Wenlock hospital in the coming days.

 

Manasa Cochlear Implant and ENT Centre Bengaluru Director Dr Vasanthi Anand children with hearing impairment can be operated at as early as eight months old, with minimal intervention techniques.