-APS Noorpuri
-Mohali: Doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali successfully performed a Bilateral Cochlear Implantation on a 1.9-year-old child, enabling the child to regain hearing for the first time in his life. The case was led by Dr. Naresh Kumar Panda, Director, Department of ENT, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali helped the baby boy to regain his hearing ability.
The 1.9-year-old male child was brought to Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali, by his parents, after noticing that their kid was not giving any response to sounds. The kid was also not able to speak. Upon his arrival at the hospital, he was thoroughly examined. The child also has an elder sibling with normal hearing and speaking capabilities, and there was no history of similar problems in any of the family members.
Doctors decided to go ahead with a Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA) test that revealed bilateral profound hearing loss. Considering the hearing loss at this tender age, the kid’s parents were advised first for hearing aids usage however the child still has no response with the hearing aids and hence further doctors decided for bilateral ear cochlear implantation.
Speaking on the case, Dr. Naresh Kumar Panda, Director of Department of ENT, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali said, “Bilateral Cochlear Implantation is not so common and needs a lot of precision. Both implants need to be inserted within 4-5 hours of duration as prolonging the general anaesthesia time in such a small child can have detrimental effects on patients well-being. We successfully conducted a child’s surgery on 5th May, and he was discharged on 8th May. He is under rehabilitation and is responding well to various sounds. Younger kids who struggle to pick up language because of hearing loss can benefit immensely from cochlear implants compared to those using hearing aids. Children with a cochlear implant exhibit an improvement in their ability to follow speech even in a noisy environment.”
Dr. Naresh Kumar Panda further elaborated: “A cochlear implant is different from a traditional hearing aid. In simple terms, a traditional hearing aid picks up sound via a microphone and makes it louder, sending the signal through the auditory system. With different hearing losses, a hearing aid may not provide enough audibility and speech clarity. Cochlear implants use an electrical signal to stimulate the hearing nerve and send the information to the brain using a surgically placed internal component which is the receiver stimulator unit and electrode array that goes into the cochlea. The sound is picked up by the microphones of an external piece worn behind the ear or on the head and communicates with the internal implant.” Dr Naresh Panda has large experience in performing bilateral cochlear implantation and has been doing cochlear implant surgeries for the last 22 years.
Max Super Specialty Hospital, Mohali, has consistently led the way in adopting cutting-edge medical technologies and one-stop solutions for surgeries, underscoring its dedication to improving patient outcomes through innovation and excellence.
