DUBAI // All newborn babies should be screened for hearing loss to avoid a lifetime of silence and isolation, leading specialists have said.
The first study into hearing loss in the UAE has been conducted by hearing implant specialists Med-El and the results were discussed at the Emirates Rhinology and Otology Conference on Wednesday.
Data was compiled by 140 of the region's leading medical professionals in the hope that a change in attitudes and, subsequently, treatment would help improve the lives of those suffering from either partial or total deafness.
Dr Hussain Al Rand, assistant undersecretary for health centres and clinics at the Ministry of Health, said it was very important that testing is done on newborns.
"I have already implemented this testing in hospitals within the Dubai Health Authority," he said. "At maternity and paediatric departments, it is a compulsory screening.
"Every lady who has a child born within the DHA at Latifa Hospital will be tested. Now I have moved to the Ministry of Health I want this to be taken up by all hospitals."
An action plan of five key principles has been drawn up to help overcome the problem of hearing loss, with implementation of mandatory screening for babies at all hospitals across the UAE the top priority.
Recognition of the scale of the problem is also high on the agenda. Figures from the World Health Organisation estimate that about 3 per cent of people in the Middle East are affected by hearing loss.
But medical professionals in the UAE believe that number is probably higher.
Most specialists who took part in the survey said deafness is one of the top five health issues in the UAE, along with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and hepatitis.
And the long-term effects can be devastating, resulting in a reduced level of education that, in turn, leads to social and financial dependency on the family or state.
"We need to raise the awareness among the uneducated mothers," said Dr Abdulrahman Hagr, president of the Saudi ORL Society.
"We must teach them once they have had a baby to notice if their child has a hearing disability. It is important that the message gets across."
Doctors say it is vital that young children are tested for their hearing up to the age of three so they can be offered the treatment at a key stage in their speech development.
An effective public awareness campaign is critical to educate parents about available treatment plans, they say.
The earlier a problem is identified, the more likely treatment will be a success, said Dr Al Rand. He said children could be treated for hearing impairments from their first birthday.
"That age is crucial. It depends on the degree of hearing loss that the child has, but hearing aids and cochlear implants can be used to restore the child's hearing," he said.
Renita D'Souza, 24, a Med-El ambassador who lives in Sharjah, suffered a gradual hearing loss from the age of seven.
But a cochlear implant in her right ear changed her life.
"I was born with normal hearing but when I turned seven, I began to suffer a gradual loss of hearing in both my ears," she said. "Doctors said it was a result of auto-toxicity from medication I was taking at the time.
"First, it was just a partial deafness but it was a gradual decline and, by the time I was 14, I lost my hearing in both ears completely."
Ms D'Souza said she was told about cochlear implants by a doctor in India and had one fitted in 2010.
She now has hearing in her right ear and will be having a second operation to have hearing restored in her left ear at the end of the month.
"I'm hoping I will be back to normal and can hear my friends again," she said. "I want to complete my master's degree and start driving again. I have begun communicating again in a way I couldn't do before."
nwebster@thenational.ae
