Sound of hope for deaf and mute

09.06.2016. Bhubaneswar: Sipun's parents had thought they would never hear the word mother or father for him. It was nothing unusual given that the six-year-old is deaf and dumb. His father Laxmidhar Pradhan, a tailor,, then heard that his son he can undergo a cochlear implant surgery that too free of cost. The implantation helps the deaf listen so that they can speak also.

A year after the surgery at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on June 5, 2015, Sipun can hear to a great extent and utter many words. he premier institute has so far conducted around 20 such surgeries, said AIIMS ENT head Dr C Preetam. Preetam said the ADIP (Assistance to disabled persons) scheme of the ministry of Social justice and empowerment funds cost of the surgery and implants for economically weaker sections. The cochlear implantation costs around Rs 5 to 6 lakh.

In private sector, the Sum Hospital has started cochlear implant programme. The SUM hospital is also empanelled under the ADIP scheme for offering the procedure free to children from BPL families below the age of five years, a hospital spokesperson said. If diagnosis of hearing impairment is done before the child turns three followed by intervention with cochlear Implant, it could make the child normal in speech and hearing, said Santosh Kumar Swain, ENT specialist at SUM. tnn