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The Miracle of Sound:
Reconnecting lives with Cochlear implants
Rajvithi Hospital recently launched the “Giving Cochlear Implant to Hearing Impaired Children” project to celebrate HM the King’s 80th Birthday this year.
Dr Kiertiyos Komin, Head of Department, Otolaryngology Institute of Thailand, Rajvithi Hospital said during the launch that there are nearly 300,000 people currently suffering from hearing loss in Thailand. Rajvithi Hospital initiated the Cochlear Implants project to give hearing implants to children aged under five years old with impaired hearing.
“The reason why we are giving the implant to children under five years of age is because it has been proven that the younger the cochlear implant recipients, the better the opportunity for them to regain their hearing. Naturally, young children can start developing speaking and listening skills from the very first sounds they hear. With continued Auditory Verbal Therapy, they will be able to grow up not being differentiated by their physical disability,”
“Many cochlear implant recipients can now connect with family and friends. More importantly they are now participating fully in the community,” said Doctor Kiertiyos.
The cochlear implant is an Australian technology icon. It is a safe and effective treatment for severe-to-profound hearing loss in adults and children. The implant is a technologically sophisticated device that bypasses damaged hair cells and stimulates the hearing nerve directly. It therefore provides improved communication abilities to the implant user through mimicking the functions of natural hearing.
Rajvithi Hospital Foundation has now set up a fund for the “Giving Cochlear Implant to Hearing Impaired Children” project. A book entitled “The Miracle of Sound” (in Thai language) was also launched to raise funds for the project. Part of the fund will go to the Foundation for the Deaf which is under the Royal Patronage of HM the Queen.
“Our children are the future. This is a wonderful investment in our children and therefore the future,” said Mr. Sean Riley, the Australian Senior Trade Commissioner who helped launch the project.
For more information and to support the project, please call 02-279-5252.
Brief background of Cochlear implant:
- In the 1960’s in Melbourne, Australia, Professor Graeme Clark began working on a solution to help his deaf father hear.
- More than 30 years later, that technology, now known as the cochlear implant, is the only technology known to restore a sense. And today, more than 100,000 children and adults hear with this miracle technology worldwide.
- It is one of Australia’s technology icons and the recipient of a 2006 Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA). The MDEA competition is the premier award programme for the medical technology community, recognising the achievements of medical product manufacturers and the many people behind the scenes who are responsible for the groundbreaking innovations that are changing the face of healthcare.