Need to address hearing loss at birth stressed

Medical experts cite cousin marriages, child births with short intervals as major reasons

MULTAN:

Deafness by birth is the main reason of hearing loss prevalent in South Punjab, according to medical experts. However, no formal data had been collected on the topic, which is the main reason of lack of research to control the problem, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The experts say hearing loss disease is more common in South Punjab due to various practices such as cousin marriages, multiple child births with short intervals, a lack of basic health facilities to control infections, lack of oxygenation and poor access to basic treatment needs of mother and child after birth.

Moreover, pregnant women end up using harmful medicines during first trimester due to quackery, which puts the child on a higher risk of suffering from acute diseases, including deafness by birth.

ENT specialist Dr Maqbool Ahmad said that hearing impairment was a gradual loss in the ability to hear, which occurred at a young age. “It can also occur in children, with some children suffering from hearing impairment congenitally from birth and some of them acquiring it during their childhood,” he added. Describing the reasons, Dr Ahmad further said that the ageing adults’ prolonged exposure to loud noise was the most common reason for hearing loss. “While noise-induced hearing loss can be easily treated through hearing aids, profound deafness requires complex medical procedures such as the cochlear implant surgery.”

Dr Bilal Ahmad Java, a consultant at a pediatrics clinic, said that the treatment of hearing loss was available. “The only hurdle in the way of curing this disease is a lack of awareness.”

Hospitals often launch awareness campaigns in this regard to treat as much patients as possible, he added. “The hospitals cater to such cases requiring cochlear implant surgery.”

A team of health experts at Mukhtar A. Sheikh Hospital investigated the issue of deafness by birth instigating major problems for the newborn children. The first problem is that the baby suffers from complete deafness and, second, the baby cannot develop speech capability.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2020.