Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) has become the first government hospital in the state to perform cochlear implantation surgery for both ears at the same time. The hospital has also given relief to a patient suffering from the problem of snoring through modern surgery.
Cochlear implants are a boon for children suffering from hearing problems. External hearing aids can sometimes cause such children to be ridiculed by other children. Cochlear implants are attached to the ear drum, deep inside the ear, and this instills confidence in such children.
Children with hearing problems since birth will also be unable to speak. Cochlear implants will correct hearing problems in children and thus help them speak. Cochlear implant surgery is performed for one year in large hospitals and in a limited manner in corporate hospitals. VIMS has already successfully performed 10 implants in one ear, and now has surgery on both ears.
Bhuvaneshwari, 30, from Makkuva village in Vizianagaram district, could not hear her voice since birth and hence could not speak. Her father Shankar Rao learned that surgery was being done at VIMS to correct the hearing impairment and consulted doctors at the hospital.
Annapurna Rao, the cochlear implantation operations chief of the hospital, conducted a hearing test on the child and found that she was suffering from 100% hearing loss. She reassured her parents about the surgery, and with their consent, she operated on both ears at the same time on 2 December. The child overcame his hearing loss.
“Under Aarogyasri, a cochlear transplant operation for Bhuvaneshwari costing ₹12 lakh (for two ears) was done free of cost. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is giving top priority to health and education, as part of which he has expanded the Aarogyasri facility for performing operations in both ears,” said VIMS Director K. Rambabu says.
,