Brett Lee bats for mandatory screening for hearing

KOCHI: Aussie former cricketer and Cochlear’s global hearing ambassador Brett Lee on Saturday lauded Kerala’s efforts in popularising screening of newborns for identifying hearing problems and said that more should be done to take it to the level of down under.

“Australia has a law that makes such screening mandatory and Kerala as well as India should go for such a measure. I understand that the government hospitals in Kerala have implemented the screening programme while the private sector is yet to implement it fully. The state government should take measures to implement it fully so as to maintain the high profile of the state in the health sector,” said Brett Lee during an interaction here.

“I am told that there are 61 delivery points in the state’s government maternity centres and all the centres have been equipped with hearing screeners. Kerala’s endeavour to push for universal newborn hearing screening speaks of trailblazing leadership. Now the average number of newborn babies screened for hearing loss in government set up is 1 lakh per year. We hope to see a similar success rate in private hospitals. We must and will strive together to complete the last mile so that no child will have to live in silence.”

Mr Lee is taking the campaign to the rest of India in the next phase.

“I am emphasising on spreading awareness on the issue among people in my campaign. The trauma one will be forced to undergo in life in the event of the defect not getting detected early is severe. Early detection leads to a better cure. Early hearing detection and intervention ‘1-3-6’ guidelines stipulate that a hearing screening should be done no later than one month of age, a diagnosis no later than three months of age and early intervention must be initiated by six months,” he said.

The cricket legend also said sound pollution in the streets too needs to be brought down as high-decibel induced deafness is also on the rise. “The honking of horns and use of heavy sound in speakers should be controlled,” he said.

Dr Manoj Manikoth, senior consultant ENT and Cochlear implant surgeon, who was with him said, “Today, with the advancements of innovative medical technology, a range of options are being made available to change lives for the better. People with hearing loss now have access to alternative solutions that can permanently cure their impairment. Rizwana PA and Abhirami K, both MBBS students and Cochlear implant recipients are examples of how healthcare technology has transformed their lives,” he said.