Shaukat suggested that modern courses regarding deaf and dumb children be included in paramedical and allied medical sciences coursework PHOTO: FILE
The use of certain medicines by pregnant women and cousin marriages increase the risk of deafness in newborns while environmental and noise pollution can also cause hearing to be impaired.
The risk factors were listed on Thursday by Prof Dr Rashid Zia, an ENT specialist at Allama Iqbal Medical College, at a seminar held in connection with Ear Care Day, which is observed on March 3.
About 278 million people in the world cannot hear, he said. Addressing the seminar, Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Dr Mehmood Shaukat said there was a need to make the general population aware of the ways hearing loss affects the lives of those suffering from it.
Shaukat suggested that modern courses regarding deaf and dumb children be included in paramedical and allied medical sciences coursework. He stressed the need for early diagnosis, which he said was important for proper treatment.
Earlier, doctors, students and some hearing- impaired children walked from the principal’s office to the Jinnah Hospital. Khawaja Salman Rafique, the special assistant to the chief minister on health, said that the government had increased its health budget from Rs10 billion to Rs50 billion during its tenure.
Rafique also talked about the importance of generating awareness in order to tackle the incidence of preventable disabilities. He urged parents to get their children vaccinated.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2013.
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