After renaming the cochlear implant scheme as ‘Shravana Sanjeevani’ and emphasizing the State government’s commitment to help children overcome hearing disorders, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said the government has set its vision to actively work towards addressing hearing impairments among children through interventions such as cochlear implants at an early stage.
“Our vision and focus is to make Karnataka a hearing impairment-free State,” the Minister said, at the event of renaming the cochlear implant scheme and distributing hearing aids to the children who had undergone cochlear implant surgery, at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH).
The programme was organised jointly by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the AIISH.
The Minister said the cochlear implant surgery was an expensive procedure and many families could not afford the treatment. Therefore, the Siddaramaiah government in 2016 launched the scheme to aid the economically-backward families in getting cochlear implants.
Now, the State government under the leadership of Mr. Siddaramaiah has once again given priority to the scheme and renamed it ‘Shravana Sanjeevani’ to reach out to the needy. In the 2024-25 budget, a sum of ₹32 crore was set aside for the scheme, Mr. Rao said, promising that the funds would be properly used for the well-being of hearing-impaired kids.
The Minister said the department has joined hands with the premier institutes like the AIISH, Mysuru, which has expertise and specialists in dealing with speech and hearing problems. At the same time, some government hospitals and also private hospitals have come out in support of the government in implementing the scheme.
The department is working closely with AIISH and other institutions and experts for the successful implementation of the scheme.
Post surgery care
Mr. Rao said the child needs to be taken care of and monitored for at least two years after the cochlear implant surgery. This becomes very essential since the parents should not be under the impression that the child will be fine after the surgery. The child needs support and guidance while their parents need to understand their roles.
Advising early identification for hearing disorders, he said hearing loss can stunt physical and mental development in children. The children can lead a normal life with interventions like cochlear implants. “I consider this as a rebirth for children whose hearing has been severely affected,” he felt.
He said the ASHA workers, and RBSK teams also need to be sensitised on identifying hearing problems in children and report the same to the institutions like AIISH for early interventions.
Minister in-charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa, who also spoke on the day, said the cochlear implant scheme benefits families which are economically backward and cannot afford the treatment. He complimented AIISH for its expertise in addressing speech and hearing problems in society.
Former Minister and MLA Tanveer Sait and Chamaraja MLA K. Harish Gowda also spoke.
NHM Director Naveen Bhat, cochlear implant surgeon Shankar Madikeri, AIISH Director Pushpavathi, Health Department Director Pushpalatha and Chandrika were present.
Topics covered
The inaugural session was followed by training. It covered topics such as the importance of newborn screening, care and maintenance of cochlear implants; troubleshooting of cochlear implants; warranty of cochlear implants; upgradation of cochlear implants; importance of listening training and role of parents and caregivers in home training.
