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Cochlear Implant Surgery in India – Boon to hearing impaired people because #HearingMatters

Imagine a world without sound, no chirping of birds, no sound of flowing water, or no whistle of a cool breeze! How does it feel? Awkward, right? Now imagine a world without car-horns, crackers, honking, shouting and annoying voices. How does it feel? Heavenly, right? Now imagine a person who is born without the ability to hear and is unable to listen to both the pleasant and the annoying sounds. It does make a huge difference to that person, doesn’t it? The importance of listening can only be understood by the person who is hearing-impaired. What if I say you that Cochlear implant surgery can be boon to hearing impaired children or people who  have profound sound loss.  Thanks to Cochlear India for making me aware of this.

Recently I got a chance to meet a brave, optimist and a very talented 11-year-old boy who was born with profound hearing loss. Currently studying in Class 6th at the Balmohan Vidyamandir, Divyesh Indulkar now lives like a normal child, and show his talent to the world like any other child.  Thanks to the unilateral Cochlear implant surgery  he underwent at the age of 1.8 years at Hinduja Hospital by Dr. Milind Kirtane .cochlear implant surgery

Divyesh’s parents who too were hearing-impaired from birth had a gut feeling that he too might be afflicted with hearing loss. And as fate would have it, their worst nightmares turned out to be true. After 5 months of Divyesh’s birth, his parents realized that he too was born with the hearing-impaired condition, since he was unable to respond to any of the sounds around him. All hell broke loose on Divyesh’s parents as the very thought of seeing their beloved son tread the same path like theirs gave them sleepless nights. The pain of seeing Divyesh go to a school for the hearing-impaired and communicating in sign language with others seemed like a repeat telecast of what they had been through all their lives.

cochlear implant surgery
divyesh’s happy family (parents and aunt)

There’s a saying, ‘Not all superhero wear capes’, so in such a situation Divyesh’s maternal aunt Chitra aka the superhero of the house, who had seen her sister her entire life without uttering a word, decided that Divyesh would not endure the same path like her sister. Therefore, she took him to a paediatrician to get him treated, after which certain tests were recommended. The tests revealed that Divyesh had profound hearing loss. Chitra was then educated about Cochlear Implant surgery at Hinduja hospital and how Cochlear implantees lead a normal life after the implantation. Divyesh was operated at the age of 1.8 and after 1.5 years of continuous therapy Divyesh was able to distinguish between the sound of a falling glass and the sound of a falling spoon. This was when the doctors started his speech therapy thereby enabling him to communicate. Divyesh loves to call himself ‘Shivba’ since he was born on Shiv-Jayanti.

Everything written above may seem to be simple for some people but Divyesh’s family had to go through tremors of financial and psychological setbacks every time they saw Divyesh not performing inspite of the effective therapy. But nature always pays of if you do hardwork to achieve something. In this case her aunt and Divyesh’s maternal grandparents stood up like giant tree to make Divyesh live normal life.  It was Divyesh positive attitude right from birth to accept what comes to him.

Unlike his parents, Divyesh was lucky to get an implant at a very early age and now lives life-like a normal child. Divyesh is now a master at playing the Tabla and that’s been possible only because of the Cochlear Implant surgery. Is it a miracle or an irony of life? I don’t know! Such is Divyesh’s optimism that he dreams of becoming a pilot. He also does a lot of mono acts and dramas on stage. He loves to dance and has been featured in many Marathi ads and has also hosted many live shows at schools for the hearing impaired.

After seeing his family, I feel that we need to make other people aware of Cochlear Implants and its importance for hearing-impaired people. Many people take life as it is gifted to them, and don’t want to change for better. I have seen many cases where parents didn’t bother to take their children for the therapy sessions even after a successful cochlear implant. Therapy sessions are an important part of the Cochlear Implant as both go hand-in-hand. Avoiding therapy sessions post the implant would leave the child with speech disorder. The pain of seeing one’s child go through all the stress is a psychological setback for every parent but one must always remember that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”  by  Jack Ma, Co-founder, Alibaba Group

 

A Cochlear Implant does the work of a human ear, but what teaches the child to speak and comprehend are the exercise and practice sessions with the therapist. Cochlear Implant is a boon to the soundless world.

 

Factors responsible for hearing loss:
  1. Family history
  2. Premature birth
  3. Infections during pregnancy
  4. Lack of oxygen at the time of birth
  5. Listen to audio at high levels
  6. Head or ear injury
  7. Measles, meningitis, mumps or ear infections
  8. Ageing
  9. High blood pressure
  10. Diabetes

 

Who can get a Cochlear Implant?
  1. People or children who have moderate to high profound sensorineural hearing loss (more than 50% hearing loss to 100% loss)
  2. Cases where hearing aids are no longer helpful.

In cases with congenital hearing loss, early intervention is advised, especially for kids below 10 years as most of the brain development happens by the age of 10. Kids learn early and that’s why an early intervention with a Cochlear Implant is beneficial for a child’s growth.

Understanding what a Cochlear Implant is –

Cochlear Implant is an electronic device which is used for medical purpose that does the work of damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain. It’s not a normal hearing aid that amplifies sound. Instead Cochlear Implants bypasses the damaged hair cells of the cochlea to provide sound signals to the brain.

How does a Cochlear Implant works?
  1. A sound processor (for instance, the Nucleus 6 processor that Divyesh wears) worn behind the ear captures sounds and turns into digital sound code. The sound processor has a battery that gives power to the entire system and is easy to charge and clean as per your need.
  2. The sound processor then transmits the digitally coded sound through the coil on outside of your head to the implant that’s surgically placed just below it, on the outside of the skull.
  3. The Cochlear Implant transform the  coded sound of digit into electrical impulses and transfer to the electrode array which is fixed in the cochlea.
  4. The implant electrode stimulates the hearing nerve which then sends the impulses to the brain where they are converted into sound.
Facts and stats related to Cochlear implant surgery

A recent survey by WHO shows that over 466 million people live with disabling hearing loss. Hearing loss can be avoided and its impact reduced. Unless action is taken by 2030 there will be nearly 630 million people with disabling hearing loss and the figure could soar up to 900 million by 2050, which means, that nearly one in every ten people will have hearing loss. In India Neonatal tests or Newborn screening is given very less importance, which leads to late detection of newborn defects. As a parent, its difficult to accept that your child can be born with defects. But faster you accept , early you can start its treatment.  This is  exactly why it’s important to educate people about cochlear implants and raise awareness about disabling hearing loss.

 

Watch Cochlear’s™ Global Hearing Ambassador, Brett Lee, talk about how a cochlear implant surgery changes lives for good:

 

Explore more about Cochlear Implants: http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/in/home/discover/cochlear-implants

 

Author

Snehalata Jain, Mother, Lifestyle blogger, Traveler, Foodie and has a knack of parental advice. She loves to travel with her family and especially her daughter angel so that she can teach her kid the real life experience. A Micro Biologist and lecturer by profession, a full time mother and blogger by choice. She is a social media pro since 2012 handling over 100 profiles till now. Stepping to blog was her decision when she realized that whatever you do or experience, documentation makes it authentic. She loves photography and traveling and creating unique recipes which are healthy and tasty. She writes what she experience during her trips. About Blogsikka : It was just a quick decision to make my lifestyle blog , while searching for blog name. I wanted a name which is not related to specific things as my life is so dynamic that I can’t stick to one thing. I love travelling and eat delicacies from around the world. My love doesn’t stop here , infact I love to cook delicious thing which I see during my trips and replicate at home. Blogsikka is all about my own experiences of life and i write whatever i experience. And my backbone support is my husband DILKHUSH SHAH who is chartered accountant by profession and a hard core traveler by passion. He is the reason behind my all trips. DO FOLLOW MY BLOG : https://blogsikka.com and my all social media tabs

24 Comments

  1. Cochlear Implant is surely the ray of hope for individuals with hearing disabilities. I saw his love for music in the short video. I am so happy for this kid 🙂

  2. This was so overwhelming! Really cochlear implant makes life a lot better for kids born with hearing disability!

  3. Being able to hear the sounds of life and nature is a gift we take for granted. So glad for thwse implanta that hearing impaired people can now enjoy it too.

  4. Cochlear has taken the responsibilty to literally remove this impossiblity of hearing. This is something definitely adding happiness to life.

  5. Papri Ganguly Reply

    Never knew such facts about Cochlear implant. It definitely plays an important role. Thanks for such insightful post

  6. Cochlear implant surgery is definitely a boon for kids who has hearing loss issue. The post is is very helpful and insightful..

  7. SHEETAL DORBY Reply

    This post is so helpful and cochelar surgery is for sure is the hope. You have described bit so well

  8. I didn’t know about Cochlear Implant. Thanks for sharing this information with us..

  9. Cochlear implant is a book to individuals having Hearing disability. Loved reasing for decriptive post

  10. This article was much needed to aware people about cochlear implant, I think we all should understand its importance to spread awareness in society.

  11. Hats off to Divyesh and his family for the patience and determination to overcome all the obstacles in life. Cochlear implant is definitely a life savior!

  12. Amazing and informative post. Cochlear implant is best for the people or kids who are tremendously facing hearing disability. Great thought.

  13. Cochlear implant is certainly the ray of hope for people with hearing impairments. I saw his music love in the short video. For this kid, I’m so glad.

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