MADURAI
For the first time, a six-year-old from Madurai heard his mother’s voice at Government Rajaji Hospital here on Wednesday. He began to cry.
This child was among the six children on whom Cochlear implant operation was performed by doctors at the GRH’s Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) Department on Wednesday.
Simple electrodes were used to simulate the damaged hair cells obstructing hearing. This created sounds on an implanted electronic device. The procedure, costing ₹6.34 lakh, was done free under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
Tamil Nadu’s second Auditory Visual Therapy Centre, inaugurated at the GRH on Wednesday, will help to augment speech and hearing capabilities of children with hearing and speech impairment.
Dean D. Maruthupandian, who inaugurated the centre, said that it would provide speech therapy through 100 sessions with Audiologist and Therapist B.M. Karthikeyan.
ENT Department Head N. Dhinakaran said about 50 children would be initially admitted to the ward, where a play school atmosphere would be created. “They no longer need to go to school for the hearing impaired,” he said.
The children would be taught to recognise and understand sounds. They would also be able to discriminate frequency levels. Within a year – 100 sessions – they would be able to speak in mono syllables. “From the world of silence, these children are entering the field of sound,” he added.
“Earlier, most of these children were sent to private speech therapists who would charge at least ₹1 lakh,” said Dr. Dhinakaran.
K.R. Radhakrishnan, Senior Assistant Professor, said parents’ IQ was seminal to speech therapy and they must ensure that there was no damage to the hearing aid machine. “Follow-up is the most important part of the therapy,” he added.
At the end of one year, the Auditory Visual Therapy Centre aims to cater to a larger number of children and have an expansive facility to simulate hearing and speech.
