Coimbatore:
A rare cochlear implant surgery was successfully performed on a four-year old girl, whohad profound hearing loss since birth.
Vedhika was 18 months old when she was brought to Dr R Anand, a consultant ENT Surgeon of Tirupur, after her parentsnoticed she was not responding to sounds.
She was examined thoroughly and it was concluded that her hearing loss was very profound, Anand told reporters.
The suggestion of Cochlear implant and its cost and outcome were explained to her parents, who then attempted to getfinancial support and approached the hospital again, he said.
The implant surgery was performed at the newly started ENT Speciality Centre at Ellen Hospital at a special cost of rs.6.5 lakh, he said.
Stating that hearing loss was one of the most common major abnormalities present at birth and if undetected would impedespeech, language and cognitive development,he said significant bilateral hearing loss is present in about one to three per1,000 new borns.
The cause of hearing loss may be due to intra-uterine infection, birth asphyxia, neo natal jaundice and earlyidentification and intervention was very essential, he said, adding that Cochlear implant was a proven medical optiondesigned to help the child with hearing loss to communicate more easily and interact more comfortably with others.