Audiology room at GRH equipped to screen newborns for hearing impairment

An Audiology room was inaugurated recently at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) in Government Rajaji Hospital here.

Head of the Department N. Dhinakaran said the lab set up at a cost of ₹20 lakh was a “long-pending dream of and a milestone for the department.”

The double set-up audiology room is equipped to take Brainstem-evoked response auditory (BERA) and Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) tests and treat 10 newborns and 20 adults in a day, said the doctor. “Accurate data on the percentage of hearing loss in each ear can be diagnosed using the test machines that helps in treating the patients better,” he noted.

“Any type of hearing impaired including newborns with hearing impairments by birth, acquired and due to old age are screened at the lab,” he said.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) tests are performed at the lab for newborns on the day of their birth that helps us to begin with treatment right away. He also said that not many are aware that when the issue is detected early, specifically under six years of age, it is “100% curable.” “We recently had a parent of a five-year-old who had run from pillar to post before they finally were aware of the facility right here at GRH,” he said.

“Cochlear implants surgeries have been successfully performed to nearly 200 children since 2016 at GRH out of which 46 were performed from January to till date,” said Dr Dhinakaran.

Once the surgery is complete, children undergo therapy at the in-house auditory verbal therapy lab for a year. “We recommend that they take around a hundred classes per year until they can communicate at ease,” he said.

The surgeries, which cost more in lakhs outside, are performed at free of cost for children under six years of age under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

Dr Dhinakaran stated that hearing impaired is diagnosed in two-three persons for every 1,000 people. “But the figures have reduced over the years and various factors contribute to better maternity care etc.,” he said.

Further, he said that parents must make sure that children do not suffer from prolonged cold which can lead to hearing loss. “We strongly do not recommend use of buds that tend to cause internal injuries, and result in hearing loss,” he stated.

GRH Dean A. Rathinavel said that the lab would be soon equipped to treat vestibular neuritis and brainstem lesions as well.