Mother’s joy as son hears for first time

Dar es Salaam. It was an emotional moment for Ms Agnes Ngoye (33) as her son, Jordan (2) cried after hearing for the first time.

This happened yesterday, a month after specialists at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), carried out cochlea implants on five deaf children.

The children, who were accompanied by their parents, returned to the hospital to ‘switch’ the implants on where the experts also installed external speech processors to enable them hear.

Speaking to reporters during the switch on process, Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) at Hear Well Audiology Clinic, Dr Fayaz Jaffer said the installed devices were removable and can be adjusted depending on the comfortable sound level of each child.

“When switched on, the speech processor sends signals to the electrodes in the cochlea for the first time and restores child’s hearing,” he said.

According to Dr Jaffer, the children will need a few weeks to get used to hearing via the implants and will have several tuning sessions for adjustment.

MNH Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) Consultant Dr Edwin Lyombo said after the speech processors were activated, the children will have to undergo hearing and therapy sessions at the national facility.

This is meant to restore their hearing within a short time before embarking on learning vocabularies.

He said the external speech processor can be replaced once damaged and that it uses a rechargeable battery.

Dr Lyombo said the treatment cost for cochlea implantation and installation of the external speech processor stands at around Sh37 million.

He disclosed that it would cost around Sh70 million if a similar procedure was carried out abroad.

Ms Ngoye, a resident of Tabata, requested the government to construct special schools for children who have already undergone cochlea implantation, saying the move would enable them to learn quickly and be able to communicate.

She also urged the MNH experts to extend screening and operation services in order to reach many people with the plight of hearing.

Ms Ngoye also mentioned poverty as a big challenge facing majority of Tanzanians, especially, when it comes to affording the treatment.

She requested the government to finance procurement of the medical apparatuses for cochlea implantation so that the programme benefits all children with hearing challenges. “Majority of the Tanzanians can’t afford this treatment. It’s expensive, so I ask the government to come forward and help cover the cost of this procedure.” she said.