18.02.2016, Kolkata: Snighdha Khunte became a mother six years ago but she could hear her daughter Shoumili Khunte calling her 'maa' only about a month ago. The girl was born hearing impaired, which ultimately left her mute. But Shoumili is now happy in the new world of words, thanks to the cochlear implant surgery that she underwent with three other children at the ENT department of the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) on September 4 last year.
"All these years, I had been yearning to hear my daughter call me maa. So I could not hold my tears back when she said those magic words for the first time. Now she is eager to speak all new words she hears," said Snighdha, the homemaker from Uluberia.
As an excited Shoumili recites 'Ata gahchhe tota pakhi', Rema Majumdar, another six-year-old who underwent the implant, tries to outdo Shoumili with 'Johny Johny'. "It is a wonderful feeling to see these children so excited as they try to say things that they hear. We are going to conduct the implant on three other children on Friday," said ENT head Dr Arunabha Sengupta.
The ENT department has been chosen by the Union ministry of health as the centre of excellence and a referral centre for the state under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness to conduct cochlear implant free of cost. While the ministry is providing the implants, IPGMER is facilitating the surgery, post-operation care, medication and hospitalization. Since rehabilitation, including speech therapy, is vital to initiate these children to speech, this role is being played by National Institute of Hearing Handicapped (NIHM) Bonhooghly.
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