Fifty per cent of hearing impaired below 65 years: expert

Ahmedabad, Aug 7 (UNI) Fifty per cent of all hearing impaired people are below the age of 65 years and many of them are children or young people, according to renowned ENT specialist Dr A K Lahiri of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

Dr Lahiri was delivering a lecture at the doctors conclave-cum- seminar, organised by Widex India here yesterday, the theme ''Hearing Loss in Children - Detection Rehabilitation''.

Poor language acquisition due to hearing loss can often be misinterpreted as a lack of intelligence or mental deficiency usually affects quality of life. With hearing problems, it becomes difficult to remain in touch with society and can lead to a sense of isolation, fatigue and loneliness, he said.

''Hearing aid plays a key role in rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment. Several studies have shown that the latest technology in hearing aids, that is digital signal processing, is very effective for individuals with post-lingual and acquired hearing impairment,'' he said.

The aim of the seminar was to create mass awareness about the causes and remedies of hearing impairment or hearing loss in children and dispel the myths, misconceptions and apprehensions about the same.

The panelists included renowned cricketer of yesteryears and brand ambassador of Widex India Syed Kirmani, T S Anand, Managing Director of Widex India, Dr Ramesh Oza, Senior Audiologist, Mumbai, Dr Rajesh Vishwakarma, ENT Surgeon Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad and Dr Ashish Mehta, Senior Neonatologist.

Speaking at the seminar Dr Oza said although most hearing losses were indeed due to old age, there were many other causes of hearing loss. These include middle ear infection, exposure to loud sounds, fractured chain of bones, perforated eardrum, outer ear deformity, otosclerosis, earwax, heredity, congenital conditions and acoustic trauma.

''Hearing loss invariably affects quality of life, hence, we need to spread awareness about hearing impairment and its remedies.

Majority of the people take hearing impairment as a handicap, which is not true,'' he added.

Talking about hearing impairment, Mr Kirmani, who himself is using digital hearing aid, said ''First of all, I thank Widex India for helping me in solving my hearing problems. The best thing about Widex products is, they are virtually invisible and no one can make out, I am wearing them. I call these hearing aids, Small Wonders''.

''Hearing problems occur due to various factors and injury is one of them. I had a fractured jaw before Australia's tour that left me with a hissing sound in my left ear. After hearing test, except for a little clarity problem, everything else was fine. That is when doctors advised me to use this hearing aid,'' he added.

As part of its philanthropic activities, Widex also distributed free hearing aids to the underprivileged children.

UNI