CMCH implemented bilateral cochlear

Vellore:John Mathew, Professor of ENT, CMCH, Vellore, displaying the cochlear device at a press conference on Tuesday. Rupa, Head of the Department of ENT is also in the picture. The Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, became the first institution in the country to perform a bilateral cochlear implantation, when the cochlear device was implanted in a 22-month-old baby by John Mathew, Professor of ENT of the CMC Hospital on May 14.

Briefing newspersons about the implantation, George M. Chandy, Director of the CMCH, said that Dr. John Mathew and Rupa, Head of the Department of ENT, developed this surgical procedure in the last few years that would enable children with congenital deafness to hear like normal persons if diagnosed and treated early.

The cost of a bilateral implant (implant in both ears in a single sitting) was Rs.13.4 lakh as against Rs.6.5 lakh for a unilateral implant (single ear). The high cost and the fact that it was not indigenously available was a limiting factor in giving this type of treatment. India should, therefore, go in a big way to manufacture the devices indigenously to bring down the price and make it available to the common man, he said.

Dr. Mathew, who performed the implantation with a U.S.-manufactured device, said that the Defence Research and Development Organisation was currently engaged in developing a cochlear implant that would be cheaper than the imported one. The ENT Professor said that the child on whom the first bilateral cochlear implant was done last month had congenital deafness. Bilateral cochlear implantation could improve the quality of hearing in many and could provide significant advantages over unilateral implantation.

"The important benefits are better hearing in the presence of background noise and improved sound localisation (directional hearing). In young children such as the child who was implanted, the other important reason for considering a bilateral cochlear implantation will be the fact that a child's auditory system is more plastic (flexible) than that of an adult. Providing sound input to both ears in a young deaf child assures that sound is processed through both sides of the brain.
Thus, the right and left auditory cortices will develop in a more normal sequence. Hence, after a bilateral cochlear implantation, considering all other factors are conducive, this child will have a very high chance of developing like a normal hearing individual."

Dr. Mathew said that the child would need rehabilitation for about six months to one year depending on its improvement. An audiologist and speech therapist would be aiding the child during the rehabilitation process. Learning to hear, listen and speak could be a long process.For someone, who had been without sound for a significant period or a child who had never heard, it takes sometime for the brain to become accustomed to the linguistic stimulation provided through the cochlear implant.By creating a stimulating listening environment and interacting with the recipient in spoken language, parents could help to develop and enhance the learning process.