A world without sound is lonely.Cochlear implants are the most promising method of giving a hearing life to the hearing and speech challenged.
There are grossly 2 Type of hearing loss
Post-lingual hearing loss: When a child develops normal speech and then loses it due to some event. Most commonly post meningitis, a cochlear implant can change lives. But timing is everything.
Prelingual hearing deficit: Hearing and speech challenged since birth.Nowadays it’s possible to have excellent results even with babies as young as 12 months.
3 most important things to help children who are hearing challenged:
#1 Early identification is most important.
If there’s any event before or after birth which can cause a hearing problem, your doctor will ask you to consult an ear doctor.Parents have the biggest chance of detecting whether baby responds by startling to loud hand clapping.
The earlier you know the more you can help.
Why is early detection important?
Your brain is an amazing organ.It is rewireable depending on the stimulus. Nature and quality of stimulus are important.
This brain plasticity or ability to learn is greatest up to age 2 and excellent till age five . Pediatricians call it the 1000 days of promise. It decreases with age and other associated problems.Speech development is deeply interlinked with hearing abilities. What the brain can’t hear the mouth can’t speak.
That’s why the early restoration of hearing can help develop normal speech in the prelingually (speech never developed)hearing challenged.
The post-lingual (speech developed, then list)hearing challenged have excellent results as they already have language skills which are helped after surgery.
#2 Training before implant
Preimplant language training by sign language (aural-oral) helps in speech development after implant. Also, digital hearing aid is prescribed before implantation to help with adjustment to wearing an earpiece.
#3 Motivation of parents and child for continuing follow-up and training
Post-implant continued training to help in the rehabilitation of the child.The family has to be committed towards this goal.
So how can you detect earliest in babies who have never developed hearing and speech? Tests needed:1)Testing the hearing: BERA/Tympanometry /OAE/ASSR
2)HRCT Temporal bone
3)MRI
Just to check whether the child is hearing BERA or Brainstem evoked response Audiometry test is useful CT /MRI helps to check for congenital structural defects.
