Medical experts have called on the government to support the provision of cochlear implants for Nigerians suffering from profound hearing loss and deafness.
They made the call yesterday in Abuja while answering questions from newsmen following the successful cochlear implantation on two children and one adult at Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, Abuja, in collaboration with MED-EL Medical Electronics.
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Prof Adoga Agida Samuel, an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant and head and neck surgeon at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Plateau State, said cochlear implant was an expensive treatment, hence that it was important for government at all levels to support it so that many Nigerians would benefit.
According to Prof Samuel, many countries in Europe; India and Egypt, among others, pay or subsidise treatment for hearing loss.
Dr Mohammed Mainasara, an associate professor and consultant ENT surgeon, said government could provide support by integrating hearing into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He said MED-EL, through its intervention in the country, had offered opportunity for Nigerians to not only access cochlear implant without travelling out of the country, but also brought all what was needed to maintain the implant after surgery.
Dr Olatise Olalekan, a consultant nephrologist and Medical Director of the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, said five cochlear implants were done for patients with deafness in 2020 with the support of MED-EL.
He said having medical procedures/surgeries in-country would help stem medical tourism and treatment costs.
Dr Olalekan described the partnership with MED-EL as robust, noting that it would ensure the implant device was available in the hospital and in the country, withh MED-EL providing support to the hospital’s health personnel on the use of the device and its maintenance.
Stephanie Unterrieder, Business Development and Regional Manager Africa of MED-EL, said the organisation was a leading provider of hearing implant solutions worldwide and that it also offered various types of innovative solutions and products to people with various types and degrees of hearing loss.
She said, “So the mission of MED-EL is to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life.”
She noted that MED-EL had been working in Nigeria for many years and had beyond its core business, providing training, screening and raising awareness to enable more access to hearing technologies patients were in need of.
Alexander Olasik, clinical engineer, Clinical Support at MED-EL headquarters, Austria, said cochlear implant was for patients with profound hearing loss and deafness, and that with the implant patients could achieve hearing again.
He explained that cochlear implants bypass damaged and non-functional hair cells in the inner ear, and send electric signals to the brain, where they are interpreted as sound.
He said a cochlear implant system consist of two parts, the externally worn audio processor detects sounds and sends them to the internal implant, which is placed just under the skin behind the ear.
Dr Barnabas Vangerwua, a consultant audiologist and CEO of NigerBell Group, called on government to make newborn hearing screening mandatory in the country, adding that due to the plasticity of the brain, early intervention transformed the life of a hearing-impaired person.
He said early detection of faults would enable the child access the procedure early so that they could learn to hear like the normal child.
Audu Modu, Head of ENT at Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, said the first cochlear implant procedure was done in the hospital in 2005 with the help of MED-EL.