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Baby, can you hear me now?

Renita Lovlyn DSouza, patient liaison poses for photograph with her hearing device during the roundtable for "Responsiveness to Hearing Impairment in the UAE".

Dubai - Doctors say earlier a hearing impairment is diagnosed, the sooner it can be fixed.

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by

Nivriti Butalia

Published: Tue 12 Jan 2016, 5:05 PM

Last updated: Wed 13 Jan 2016, 8:26 AM

Most people don't know about tests related to hearing and therefore don't undergo them. When most people become parents, they don't think to get the ears of their new-born babies checked - definitely not in the same hospital trip as when the baby is born, and usually they don't come back to the hospital till it's vaccination time for the little ones. Even as 1 in 25 babies born in the UAE suffer from some degree of hearing impairment, getting the ears of your baby checked is low priority. A UAE survey done by MED-EL with figures that say as much. 'Can my child hear properly?' is just not an issue that occurs to most people.

 Survey Findings

(Sample dose: 523 men and women across UAE aged 18-40, with kids upto 5 years age)
> 4% said they had a family history of hearing problems
> 56% believe that hearing impairment is a highly severe health issue
> 23% completely agree to hearing loss being one of the top 5 severe health issues in UAE
> 81% had little to no awareness about the prevalence of hearing impairment
> 20% not aware that hearing screening could be performed for new-born babies
> 62% which amounts to more than two third of the total respondent pool stated that their babies were not screened for hearing
> 82% said they had not discussed hearing screening for their babies with their healthcare professionals prior to their delivery
> 87% agree that new-born hearing screening should be mandatory practice
> 91% believe there should stronger collaborations between private and public sector to tackle hearing issues
The survey called 'Responsiveness to Hearing Impairment in the UAE', took into account 523 married men and women (18-40 year olds, with kids) across the UAE. They were asked questions about their familiarity with hearing loss, and general perceptions of the impairment; 62 per cent said their babies were not screened for hearing, and the same percentage of people said they were not familiar with the process.
The study revealed that 4% of respondents identified, at least, one case of hearing-impaired person in their families. Now whether it's social stigma or lack of awareness, of those reported to have hearing impairment, a projected total of 142,863 individuals (34%) have not yet been fitted with hearing-implants, hearing-aids or undergone other hearing treatments. This is especially true for the younger generation of respondents' sons and daughters.

Furthermore, the study showed that 81% of the respondents acknowledged to having little to no awareness regarding the prevalence of hearing impairment.
Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, FRCS Assistant Undersecretary, Health Centres and Clinics, UAE Ministry of Health said that these survey results show hearing impairment can hinder the health and restrict the potential of citizens, "should we not take the necessary precautions to educate them on the effects of undetected hearing loss, and set in place simple processes for earlier diagnosis and treatment."
Early diagnosis can help
Professor Dr Jamal Kassouma, ENT consultant and cochlear implant programme director at Dubai Hospital, said: "We cannot stress more on the importance of early diagnosis in successfully treating children affected by hearing impairment. By addressing this earlier on, there is a higher chance of improved speech and language development, as well as the opportunity to avoid more complex hearing issues developing as children grow older." Crucially, Dr Jamal said: "Please don't' think of your cousin as a future wife". We need to spread the word for people to stop viewing cousins as marriage partners. And we need to start talking about hearing loss, and getting the kids tested young.
As for the stigma associated with wearing hearing aids/ hearing implants, David Raetz, Regional Director Middle East puts it well: "Just as there should be no stigma around visual impairments and children wearing glasses, there should be none for children needing hearing aids."

Nivriti Butalia

Published: Tue 12 Jan 2016, 5:05 PM

Last updated: Wed 13 Jan 2016, 8:26 AM

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