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Tuesday 13 June 2017

Celebrating the Joy of Hearing #CochlearCelebration



Imagine you are watching a live cricket match with exciting commentary, buzzing action on field and on the stands. Now replay the same scene on a mute button. Absolutely no fun and the silence is deafening, isn’t it? 

This is the void of silence that fills the life of a hearing impaired person. Unable to comprehend and freely communicate, he is deprived of the simplest and most basic joy of life a normal person takes for granted.


The WHO estimates that worldwide 360 million people have a disabling hearing loss, out of which 32 million are children

Up to 5 of every 1000 infants are born with or develop a disabling hearing loss in early childhood and over 90% of these hearing impaired children are born to normal parents.  

I was fortunate to attend an eye-opening event hosted by Cochlear India on 14th May 2017 at Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Mumbai as a part of a blogger team.
This amazing event was conducted to create awareness and to celebrate the success and achievements of the several recipients who have received a Cochlear implant – A #CochlearCelebration. It also brought to light so many hitherto unknown and neglected facts about hearing loss.

Event Inauguration:

The event was kick-started by an effervescent introduction by Isha Vartak and a classical dance performance by Sharanya Manoharan, both Cochlear recipients




The event was graced by dignitaries and philanthropists Mr.S.Ramadorai, Mr. Arun Nanda, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Mr. Bharat Shah and many others who generously support the cause of ihear foundation dedicated to helping the hearing impaired.



Address by Dr.Milind Kirtane:

Dr Milind Kirtane, renowned ENT surgeon, Padmashri awardee and the incredible man behind the ihear foundation, shed light on various aspects of hearing loss.




Causes of hearing loss:

  



Cochlear Implant:

The Cochlear implant is an electronic device inserted into the ear in a straightforward medical procedure. Because it functions by bypassing the damaged parts of the inner ear, a Cochlear implant can provide hearing when hearing aids can’t. They can in fact provide around seven times better hearing performance than hearing aids.




A Cochlear implant is an established, effective and long-term hearing solution for people with severe to profound hearing loss.  Quite simply, it is a miracle that brings sound into silent lives!




The BEST Approach to tackle hearing loss:

Dr Kirtane shared the four-fold approach termed BEST to tackle hearing loss. 



B – Bilateral Cochlear Implantation
E – Early Intervention
S – Smart Hearing Partner
T – Therapy to follow up post implant involving Speech and Audio therapy
 

Expert Session and Panel Discussion:

Audiologist Nishita Mohandas emphasized the importance of having bilateral (both ears) cochlear implants. A unilateral implant functions normally and enables you to hear just like you should, but imagine having to hear with only one ear or see with only one eye. It’s restrictive and the vision remains incomplete. Bilateral Implantation ensures perfect hearing.

The challenges with a unilateral/single ear implant would be,
SAFETY – Important in situations like crossing a road where the traffic is coming from both the sides.
HEARING IN NOISE – Focusing on a particular voice amidst noise, e.g teacher’s voice in a classroom filled with other external and internal noises.
FATIGUE – The brain expends a lot more effort when it has to process information from a single ear alone, resulting in brain fatigue.

Early detection – As early as a new-born, and not later than 6 months old, a child needs to be screened for early signs of deafness. The test involved is simple and highly effective.

Vaccination – Protecting the child with vaccines against potential infection such as Meningitis and Influenza.

Early Decision – Early detection of hearing loss followed by early decision to have implantation done can greatly influence child’s learning ability, since brain development and cognitive abilities are at their prime in the first three years of life.

An illuminating panel discussion comprising of Dr. Soonu Udani (Paediatricians and Intensivist), Ms. Geeta Char (Paediatric Audiologist), Dr Samir Dalwai (Paediatrician) tackled some rather important aspects of hearing loss.

Cochlear implantations can and have been performed successfully on children as young as 6 months old.


Here, Dr Kirtane shared the example of Swara Pathare of 1.5 years who has recently undergone successful implants. He emphasized the importance of following up the implant procedure with dedicated Speech Therapy. 


Ms. Shefali Shah, Director of Sound Steps, a leading early intervention Center for hearing impaired, shared the importance of the role of Parents in therapy.

Success stories of Recipients:

It was a heartening sight to watch chirpy Divesh Indulkar, charming Jehan Deboo, intelligent Sunny Shah, champ Rujal Jain, bubbly Kuhu Deshpande, cute Nupur Chowdhary, smart Vedant , sweet Shravani Mahajan, talented Bhagyashree Mohan, vivacious Shanice Fernandes, sporty Nabha Wamburkar and danseuse Palak Berad – All Cochlear recipients with success stories of fulfilling great achievements and nurturing bigger dreams, despite their hearing affliction. 

The happiness, achievements and success of these children were possible, simply because their parents took the decision to intervene early and go in for Cochlear implants when they were very young.


Cochlear, the World leader in cochlear implants:

Coming to the brand itself, Cochlear is the global leader in cochlear implants, delivering over three decades of implant innovation to millions of people worldwide. Cochlear is built upon a foundation of success. Over 450,000 people of all ages, across more than 100 countries, now hear because of Cochlear. Cochlear is dedicated to bringing the gift of sound to people with moderate to profound hearing loss. 


The Cochlear hearing system consists of a surgically placed Cochlear implant and an external sound processor.
The Cochlear Profile Series implant is the world’s thinnest at 3.9mm thickness and their Nucleus C124RE is the most used cochlear implant in the world with a 99.1% reliability record. This system is so advanced that it allows your child to hear by cutting through the background noise and streaming directly to the sound processors – super-hearing, thereby helping them dream big and achieve those dreams.




Kanso® Sound Processor:

Cochlear’s latest offering, the Kanso® Sound Processor is the ideal hearing solution for children and adults.





The Kanso® Sound Processor works with a Cochlear Nucleus implant. It is an off-the-ear, all-in-one sound processor that is the smallest and lightest in its class, designed for people who want to be able to forget they are wearing a hearing device, especially ideal for children.
Kanso® is so discreet it's barely noticeable, so small and comfortable; your child can forget he is wearing it. Kanso® is a hearing solution that gives your child the confidence to live his life to the full and you the peace of mind that he will be able to join in with his friends and explore his potential to the fullest. Combined with the wireless accessories and versatile remote functions, it is an unbeatable product to combat hearing loss.
Watch this video to understand how Kanso® works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUxQaO0Ltac  
For more information: Kanso® Sound Processor

The Cochlear Family:

The happy stories and testimonials of all the Cochlear recipients’ leads back to a very crucial and integral part of the therapy and that is Support. Cochlear as a brand is dedicated to providing the best support. The recipients receive the best lifelong hearing experience and access to innovative future technologies.

For an A+ hearing experience, Cochlear offers,

Support with (Re)habilitation

Access to Industry Experts

Recipient support

Service and Repairs

The Cochlear Community

Cochlear’s support mantra is quite simple

Hear now and always.

Your family is part of our family, for life.


The event culminated with a heart-warming vision of all the Cochlear recipients coming on stage along with the incredible Dr Kirtane. The happiness, warmth, pride and genuine bonhomie shared by the recipients and their families with their doctors, therapists and Cochlear was indeed touching.


I came away from the event with one line firmly etched in my mind,

Films can be sub-titled, life cannot!

If you are a parent of an infant, ensure he is screened for the universal new born hearing screening. If your child or any other child you know is affected, do not wait.

Bilateral Implantation, Early intervention and Therapy is the best solution. Importantly, going in for the best available hearing partner, one who will help and support you all along.

 

References:

http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/in/home/understand









Disclaimer:

This is a sponsored post. In all sincerity, I have reported facts gathered from Cochlear India.
Readers are advised to use their own discretion regarding usage of the above information.

 

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