Hi-tech training for MS students

                            HI-TECH TRAINING FOR MS STUDENTS

The centre, set up by SJM Medical College and Hospital, will be offering a month-long hi-tech training to students who have completed Master of Surgery (MS) course in Ear Nose Throat (ENT). The ENT surgeons will be taught how to implant the artificial inner ear in the deaf, who have lost hearing power due to accidents or are born that way.“This training centre will cater to not only the ENT specialists of Karnataka, but also to the rest of the country. Hitherto, most of them had to go to the U.S. or some European country for training. Now, they can undergo training here and set up their own Cochlear Implant centre,” said N.B. Prahallad, ENT Surgeon and head of the department of ENT, SJM Medical College and Hospital.

Quoting from a survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO), he said that India was home to over 65 million deaf people – those who have lost their hearing capacity or have become hard listeners. The causes may be congenital, because of consanguinity, or owing to accidents. Some people lose their hearing efficiency due to constant hearing of loud noises which damage the eardrums. Children who are deaf by birth also face speech problems as they cannot learn speaking without hearing. “This is one of the major reasons why many deaf children become dumb as well.”Though external hearing aids are generally preferred for the hard listeners, Dr. Prahallad said such machines have limitations as they cannot treat the people who are completely deaf. “In simple terms, the machines amplify the sound to make it audible, but for those who are totally deaf, such machines cannot help them hear. In such case, artificial transplantation of the inner ear is the only option.” Dr. Prahallad illustrated how the Cochlear Implant helps in sending sound signals to the brain which enables the deaf to hear.

Though India had about 30 implant centres, there are no centres for the surgeons to undergo training in the field. Karnataka had three implant centres, and the Chitradurga centre is an addition which also offers training.

Dr. Prahallad, who has undergone training in the U.S, said that he wanted similar training centres to be set up in India. After implantation, the rehabilitation of the patient is important as the patient needed to be given speech therapy for months.

On the high cost of treatment, Dr. Prahallad said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was inventing inexpensive machines which would possibly cost only Rs. 1 lakh. 

                                                                             Prof. John Kurakar