The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Deafness affects 6 per cent of population

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Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Deafness affects 6 per cent of population

Staff Reporter

Deafness that is not identified in the early years of one’s life, will lead to major deficiencies

Kakinada: Deafness affects approximately 6 per cent of the population and it has become a major congenital anomaly, Bhavani Prasad Chalikonda stated in a press release here. Prasad is a well known paediatrician in Kakinada, who is currently working as a paediatric critical care specialist at New Jersey.

He stated that children who are born deaf cannot hear and therefore will not be able to speak. Such children are called deaf-mutes as they grow older. Deafness that is not identified in the early years of one’s life, will lead to major deficiencies in language and communication skills. Studies have shown that children, whose hearing disability is not detected within six months of their birth, will have impaired language and they lag behind their peers.

Once deafness is identified, such children can be provided devices to improve hearing and thereby communication abilities.

In this regard, Bhavani Praasd has recently donated a computerised equipment that tests the hearing capacity of the children within the first 12 hours of their birth and thus pave the way for treatment in case of any impairment. Results of the tests will be made available immediately, at Gayatri Children’s Hospital in Perrajupet to which the equipment has been donated.

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Andhra Pradesh