Saudi Arabia is in need of 1,000 electronic cochlear implants annually to treat patients with hearing disabilities.
The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department at King Abdulaziz Hospital, in collaboration with the Saudi ENT Society, organized an awareness meeting for electronic cochlear implants entitled “Saudi Awareness Day for Cochlear Implants to treat Hearing Problems” at the King Abdulaziz Historic Center in Riyadh.
The event took place in the presence of the Dr. Fahd Al-Zamil, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and university hospitals’ supervisor at King Saud University, as well as a group of ENT physicians from various hospitals in the Kingdom.
Dr. AbdulRahman Bin Abdullah Hajar, head of the Saudi Society for ENT, declared in his speech that the incidence of hearing impairment in the Kingdom had exceeded global ratios due to the phenomenon of inter-marriages, noting that the Kingdom is currently in need of about 1,000 electronic cochlear implants annually to treat patients who are profoundly deaf or severely hearing impaired.
He revealed that 60 patients had undergone surgery for electronic cochlear implants in 2008. The King Abdullah Specialist Ear Center at King Saud University, which is also the biggest center for cochlear implants in the Middle East, implants about 400 electronic cochlear implants annually.
Hajar said that the society is supporting these and other specialized cadres of audiology and speech, which is a specialty within the jurisdiction of the King Abdullah Specialist Center at King Saud University.
Al-Zamil, stressed on the importance of the hearing faculty, saying that a deficiency in this important sensory organ greatly affects quality of life.
He valued the approval of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to name the hearing disability center at King Saud University the King Abdullah Specialist Center. The idea of a research center for the treatment of hearing problems was first introduced in 2008 and the center began functioning in 2012.
Al-Zamil also praised the cooperation of all the institutions and members of the Saudi Society, in addition to the support of the university. He wished the center success and hoped it would be among the most advanced centers in the world in the field of treating people with hearing problems. He called on universities to provide high quality educational and health services in this domain.
Many scientific lectures and discussions on several topics took place on Saudi Awareness Day, among which include early detection of hearing problems, early intervention and cochlear implants, unilateral hearing impairment and tackling the current failure to address them in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s potential in the field of ear surgery and electronic cochlear implants was also highlighted. Attendees discussed means to build bridges of cooperation to take advantage of the services offered at the King Abdullah Specialist Center.
King Saud University is home to a number of faculty members who have international scientific certificates in the field of hearing disabilities and methods of treatment, as well as a number of fellowship physicians specialized in diseases of the ear, nose and throat, which is the most prominent and most dated fellowship in the Kingdom.
KSA needs 1,000 electronic cochlear implants annually
