The national referral hospital performed cochlear implant surgeries for the first time in February this year. Three patients underwent the surgery and they said their lives have improved after the surgery. A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that helps improve hearing for people with severe hearing loss. However, the patients said they are facing difficulty especially when they are in crowd as the implant has a microphone which picks up all sounds.
A mother of six, Kinzang Lhamo from Toebisa in Punakha is one of the patients. She said she became deaf in 2021 and since then she had difficulty communicating. She runs a yoghurt manufacturing business at Thinleygang in Punakha.
“I am unable to hear and sense what is coming from behind and what people are talking about. I find myself rather dull. Even when I talk, I cannot speak clearly, and I cannot do my business properly. But after surgery, today I can interact properly with anyone.’’
She said after the surgery, she attends rehabilitation training which is provided by the audiologist at the national referral hospital twice a month. And this has helped her to interact with people.
‘‘After the cochlear implant and the day the audiologist switched on the machine, I was able to hear the sound of water, and people’s voices. When I go outside, I can hear the vehicle’s noise and birds chirping. Then from the next day onward, I was able to hear more words but unable to understand.’’
Similarly, 21-year-old Yeshi Tshering from Trongsa who underwent the surgery said his life has improved.
‘‘In the past, I needed someone to accompany me wherever I go. It was difficult for me to understand when someone talked from behind. After the surgery, I can go anywhere on my own. I can even communicate on the phone now.”
According to doctors, the rehabilitation training which includes speech therapy is to make the patients get used to sounds.
‘‘After a cochlear implant on the 21st day, we switch on the implant. So until that day, even after a successful implant, patients won’t be able to hear anything. So, once you switch on the implant on the 21st day, they begin to hear the sound. But the sound that you hear through the cochlear implant is different from how we hear normally, through our normal biological ears. So for that, we need to train the patient. So, we need to make the patient get used to the sound that is being heard through the cochlear implant,” said Dr Phub Tshering, Head of ENT and Head Neck Surgery Department.
‘‘Auditory training is practised to make the patients hear natural sounds that are received from the sound processor. It will be good to give a minimum of two sessions a week. But due to the lack of human resources, we are providing training once a week. Likewise, we are giving mapping service once in two weeks,” said Karma Tenzin, an audiologist.
Although the implant service is a life-changing hearing support, the sustainability of the service is a concern for national referral hospital as the implant is expensive.
The cost of one implant is estimated to be around Nu 800,000.
‘‘The main challenge at the moment that we are facing is how can we sustain this programme. The cochlear implant project is very important and has a huge impact on the beneficiaries. However, at the moment you know, it is still a costly intervention. If you consider the cost of the implant it is almost Nu 800,000,” said Dr Phub Tshering.
During the second phase which will happen in November, a few children will receive the implant.
According to the national referral hospital, they hope to provide a similar kind of service to elderly people if there is sufficient budget.
The hospital had allocated Nu 20 M for the 12th Five-Year-Plan for the service.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Tshering Zam
