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Dubai Hospital has performed more than 500 cochlear implants to restore hearing since the introduction of this service in 2013, said a top health official.
Dr Jamal Kassouma, ENT consultant at Dubai Hospital spoke ahead of World Hearing Day, which is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.
Dr Kassouma said that so far, a majority of the implants have been performed for children. The hospital is one of the few in the UAE to perform bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants and is recognised as a regional centre for cochlear implants and training in surgery. The hospital has a full-fledged cochlear implant team comprising consultant cochlear implant surgeons, consultant audiologists and consultant speech therapists that made the unit unique in the region.
Dr Kassouma said, “Since we have a stringent newborn screening policy and since every newborn is screened prior to discharge from the hospital, we detect any cases of hearing impairment early on. This means that babies receive early intervention, which is crucial for language and hearing development. Babies as young as seven months are fitted with the hearing aid and by one year, which is the eligible and recommend age, children who require cochlear implants undergo surgery and are fitted with the implants. The inner implant does not require to be changed unless there is an issue, which is very rare, and the outer device may need to be changed if it is damaged.”
He said Dubai Hospital has a high success rate and zero complication rate. Internationally he said that the complication rate is one to two per cent.
Dr Kassouma said, “Early intervention helps children with congenital hearing loss. Children who receive the implants before 18 months of age in particular have shown to develop language and hearing skills similar to that of their peers with normal hearing.”
He said one of the main reasons for congenital hearing loss is attributed to marriages between blood relatives and the main reason for acquired hearing loss in meningitis.
He said in adults, unlike children, detection of hearing loss is often delayed, as many patients do not visit a doctor unless their hearing is quite impaired. “The incidence of hearing loss increases with age. Patients should visit their ENT specialist even when they feel the slightest change in their hearing. Early intervention can prevent the need for surgeries or implants in many cases. In patients with sudden hearing loss, the first line of treatment is to provide medication for six months, if hearing does not recover within that time and if hearing loss is moderate to severe a hearing aid is helpful. But in cases of profound hearing loss, we recommend cochlear implants, even for one ear.”
Dr Kassouma said, “Early intervention can greatly improve outcomes with minimum intervention.”
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