Over 600 cochlear implants in 23 years

JEDDAH: Dr. Abdul Monem Hassan Al-Shaikh, head of the Cochlear Implants Program at Fahd General Hospital, said more than 600 patients have so far received the cochlear implant surgeries since the program began in 1993.
“The largest number of cochlear implant surgeries involved children between the ages of one and five years,” he was quoted as saying to local media on the sidelines of the sixth annual Forum for Electronic Cochlear Implants held at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, recently, which coincided with World Hearing Day.
Al-Shaikh, who represents Kingdom at the World Health Organization Program for the Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss, said installing cochlear implants for those who have lost hearing as a result of accidents is much easier than conducting surgeries on those who are born with hearing loss or have hearing problems.
A person’s ‘hearing memory’ is easy to deal with, he said.
Demands for this type of surgery, he said, is increasing because of a high rate of its success and the provision by the Kingdom of the electronic device, which would otherwise cost each person about SR120,000. He continued, saying that rates of implant surgeries have also increased due to the short duration of the surgery these days, ranging from two to four hours, generally.
“The electronic cochlea implant is one of the most advanced devices to have come out of scientific research in recent years. It helps the deaf to overcome their disability and facilitates their integration into society. The sixth annual forum being held currently coincides with the celebrations of World Hearing Day launched by the World Health Organization in 2007, which is now celebrated on the third of March every year,” he said.