Srinagar , 23 Mar : 1.5- year-old baby with congenital bilateral profound hearing loss was successfully treated with Cochlear Implant surgery to have normal hearing a speech , at Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital , Saket recently.Addressing the presser in Srinagar, the doctors said that the baby identified as Master Tashif was born with a congenital hearing deformity , his parents came to know of the condition only when the baby turned 1.5 years of age when they realized that child’s speech is not getting developed . Master Tashif , was initially put with a hearing aid but since the child didn’t gain any benefit to develop speech , he then consulted with an audiologist in Srinagar .Various evaluations like QAE , BERA , ASSR were done and was advised to undergo cochlear Implant surgery . He was then admitted to Max Smart Hospital Saket , where CT scan and MRI were done to see the anatomy whether suitable for cochlear implant . The surgery went very well and the child was discharged the very next day and about after 10 days when the wound got healed, switch on was done and processor was put and after which that child received AVT therapy. ” Cochlear implant surgery is a boon for infants with hearing loss since birth and for children who have lost hearing ability due to infection or trauma and are not benefiting with hearing aids .Over the past several years, tremendous advancements have been made in cochlear implant technology and surgery, resulting in new benefits and much improved services for patients of hearing loss. Cochlear implant is a great solution for all the kids who are born deaf and excellent results in terms of language 7 SPEECH ACQUISITION can be achieved if surgery can be done in a child as young as 9 months of age . The earlier the intervention , the better is the outcomes . ” Said Dr. Sumit Mrig , Principal Consultant and Head- ENT Department , Max Smart Hospital , Saket , New Delhi.As per doctors the child is now able to express his needs verbally using words , phrases , simple sentences , reciting rhymes , where initially his parents lost hope that the child would not be able to speak , listen or understand .Cochlear implant devices are medical devices which work by picking up sound signals & transmit them via external processor through skin via a magnet to inner receiver stimulator stimulus which through fine electrodes generate electrical which stimulate cochlear nerve & it is perceived in the brain as sound. This allows sound to skip the damaged cells in the cochlea
