Abstract

Impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on the management of congenital deafness in the pediatric population.

Author(s): Ruchima Dham

The sense of hearing is perhaps the most important of the five special senses the human possesses. Deafness is a silent handicap, hence early identification of hearing loss and provision of early access to auditory stimuli is crucial for the development of age-appropriate linguistic competence in a congenitally deaf child. Children of permanent childhood hearing loss are at risk of developing emotional and behavioral difficulties. Cochlear Implantation(CI) has been developed as a recognized clinical therapy for the management of bilateral sensorineural profound deafness with minimal benefit from an optimally fitted digital hearing aid. However, The cochlear implant technology provides access to sound, but, habilitation with a nurturing spoken language environment is what aids in giving meaning to the sound and, this systematic and rigorous training helps attain full auditory potential.