THE APPROACH
One is every thousand people are either born deaf or suffer from hearing issues. Devangi Dalal and Dr. Jayant Gandhi have attended several patients and they have an interesting observation to share with their audience, that many parents don’t have the slightest idea that their child might have a hearing disorder since the time of birth. Unfortunately, this hampers the overall growth of the child. The lack of hearing leads to a lot of uninvited problems like low concentration and confidence, affecting his/her academics and social life too. Being a misfit pressures the child leaving him into isolation. Many choose to grow old and innocuously make it a part of their lives, knowing this disability will disturb them personally and professionally.
The only method to accurately diagnose a hearing loss or a mild hearing loss is by taking a test that can measure hearing independence of a child’s response i.e objective testing. The countries in the west can diagnose hearing loss of a severe degree accurately in 98 % of children as compared to less than 20 % in India. This reflects the staggering level of unawareness.
MY APPEAL
Her appeal to the government is to take up hearing disabilities as a serious matter and make it mandatory to have tests in our country. By practising this initiative, the countries in the west are already way ahead of us. Detecting the issue at an early stage can reduce hearing handicaps by 20-40 percentile and is achievable. Devangi says “According to the research 80 countries of the world have their own pediatric protocol for the hearing impaired children that includes USA, UK, Canada since 2005.” She recommends making Otoacoustic Emissions tests also called an OAEs test compulsory for every newborn. This will help us identify the issue and diagnose them, saving kids from future hassle and this will surely contribute huge amounts to the country.
In the Oae screening test, a miniature earphone and microphone are placed in the ear, sounds are played and the response is measured. If a baby hears normally, an echo is reflected back into the ear canal and is measured by the microphone. When a baby has a hearing loss, no echo can be measured on the OAE test. These tests are accurate in nature and can help solve hearing issues. And can surely eradicate hearing disability from society.
MY VISION
To establish a trendsetting and an advanced level center to coach public speaking and voice modulation to the hearing impaired. Giving them a specialized voice and speech therapy, to help them unify with society. To develop an Audio testing website and promote it through FM Radio channels and educate the audience about hearing impairment on a large scale. Tapping on the Television format by creating reality shows on a National TV Network, To showcase the talents of the hearing and speech impaired children, and to let the world see how gifted and skilled these children are. Wonders can happen if appropriate aids, training, and assistance are provided.
ACHIEVEMENTS
A timeline mapped out of the journey from the very beginning. The road of accomplishments and roaring cheers.
When important matters are taken into account.
Emphasizing on the pressing issue of hearing disabilities and make it mandatory to have tests in India.