World Hearing Day: Hearing defects among children must be addressed within one year of birth, says expert

Hyderabad: An ENT expert from the state, Dr Satheesh Sakinala, stressed on the need to have check up on hearing defects among the children, besides having other regular vaccinations within one year of the birth.

World Hearing Day is celebrated on March 3 every year. Dr Satheesh said that the way vaccination was important, hearing checks are also an important aspect. “In the noisy world we live in, the best way to check your hearing ability is to have a periodic audiological evaluation. This would help a child in having a normal life. Their ears may be small but one should remember that they are important,” said Dr Satheesh.

As per a study in 2024, five in every thousand children were born with hearing defects. Many countries have testing procedures for infants but there are only a few states in the country which follow this. The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) working on supervision and finding the hearing defects among the infants has recommended hearing screening in the first month, audiological diagnosis and early intervention and enrolment in the third month. Raising awareness and increasing detection rates can ensure that more children get the intervention they need for a normal, fulfilling childhood, he said.