Date:11/06/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/06/11/stories/2009061158920300.htm
Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram Technology to the help of hearing impaired Staff Reporter THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A nine-year-old girl, Anakha, who was born without external ears or ear drums was ushered into the world of sounds through Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) surgery . The surgery, involving an advanced technology and performed at the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital last week by ENT surgeon K.G. Mathew, is currently performed only in select hospitals in the country, a press note issued by the hospital said. Anakha of 'Vaisakh', VSSC Road, Kazhakkuttam, was born without external ears, ear canal, ear drums or ear ossicles. However, she had the inner ear and the hearing nerves. She was a fit candidate for the BAHA surgery as this is a procedure for people who are born with abnormal or no external ears, those who have one-sided deafness and those suffering from chronic ear infection, who cannot use hearing aids as these worsen the infection. Auditory implant A BAHA is an auditory implant and sound processor. The process involves placing a titanium implant in the skull behind the ears, which has an external screw that will be visible. It is then attached to a sound processor or a hearing aid, normally fixed in the hair. The implant allows sounds to be conducted directly through the bone to the cochlea, replacing the function of the middle ear. The child will have to undergo several sessions with audiologists and speech therapists for nearly a year before her hearing and comprehension abilities become perfect. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
