Cochlear implant in hearing impaired children stopped at GMC Baramulla

Baramulla, Sep 1: For Nazir Ali, it has been more than two years since he registered his daughter, Areeza Zehra, 4, for a cochlear implant at GMC Baramulla. However, the sudden decision to stop the cochlear implant procedure at GMC has not only disheartened him but has also crushed his hope of hearing his little daughter respond to her parents’ calls.

Like Areeza, there are 13 other children who were registered for the cochlear implant, but their wait now seems endless, with no light at the end of the tunnel. The Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla, a few years ago, started offering cochlear implants for hearing-impaired children, giving them a new lease on life.

So far, around 10 children have successfully undergone cochlear implant surgery at GMC. A procedure that costs over Rs 6 lakh in the private sector was being provided free of cost to hearing-impaired children. The ENT Department of GMC Baramulla, which successfully performed 10 cochlear implant surgeries during 2022–23 under the ADIP scheme and the mentorship of senior faculty from AIIMS New Delhi, has been unable to continue these life-changing surgeries for the past two years.

All 10 children who underwent the procedure have regained their hearing ability and are currently undergoing speech therapy at GMC Baramulla to develop speech and communication skills. Since its inception, around 10 children have benefited, and their parents were overjoyed to see their children responding to their calls.

However, the sudden halt of the procedure has left scores of parents disappointed, their hopes shattered as they wait for the service to resume. Many parents, who had been eagerly waiting, now feel helpless and heartbroken as they cannot afford the expensive procedure in the private sector. Nazir Ali, a labourer by profession, said his happiness knew no bounds when he first heard about the availability of the cochlear implant procedure at GMC Baramulla two years ago. He rushed to register his then 4-year-old daughter, but the long wait and uncertainty have now left him disheartened and emotionally exhausted.

“I cannot afford the procedure in the private sector,” said Ali. “It costs a huge amount. I am a labourer, and whatever I earn daily is just enough to make ends meet. For a poor person like me, this procedure at GMC Baramulla was nothing short of divine intervention to ease my child’s suffering,” he added.

The ADIP (Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances) is a Government of India initiative that provides financial assistance to people with disabilities (PwDs) to procure modern, standardized assistive devices to aid in their physical, social, and economic rehabilitation.

The scheme helps individuals obtain aids like tricycles, wheelchairs, hearing aids, and other sophisticated tools to improve their independent functioning and reduce the impact of disabilities. An official of the GMC Baramulla while confirming the halt in the CI implant said that the scheme ADIP has been stopped with the result their has been no further proceedures of CI. “The scheme has been stopped. so far their has been no further information on the scheme as of now,” he said.