Preventing the Loss
Preventing the Loss
The ear awareness & screening camp, organised by the Society for Sound Hearing to commemorate the World Hearing Day 2016, went a long way in raising awareness about ear care in the community
“Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus– the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man.” – Hellen Keller.
Hearing loss is the most prevalent sensory disability globally. The WHO estimates that over 5% of the world’s population – 360 million people – has disabling hearing loss with its highest prevalence being in Asia Pacific, South Asia and Sub Saharan African regions. It is seen that at least half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable through primary prevention, including healthy ear care practices.
In order to raise awareness on this issue, the World Hearing Day is observed on 3rd March every year. It is an annual advocacy event. Designated at the First International Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impairment in Beijing (China) in 2007, the day aims to raise awareness and promote ear and hearing care across the world.
The 2016 theme for the day is Childhood Hearing Loss: Act Now, Here’s How. This aims to draw attention to the fact that the majority of causes which lead to hearing loss in children can be prevented through public health measures.
On the occasion of World Hearing Day 2016, an ear awareness & screening camp was organized by the Society for Sound Hearing in collaboration with Department of Community Medicine, MAMC & Medtronic at Anaganwadi Centre, Delhi Gate on 14th March 2016. In this collaborative event, the screening was carried out by community health workers from Dr Shroff’s Charity Hospital who screened the beneficiaries using handheld mobile devices. The images of the ear were transferred for diagnosis to the ENT specialists at Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi.
As part of screening program, 100 beneficiaries were screened. 57% of the people screened were females while 43% were males. The age of the patients varied from less than 1 year to over 70 years. Maximum patients belonged to the age group of 51-60 years (17%). Nearly all the beneficiaries were from Delhi Gate and nearby areas. Out of the total people screened, 53% of the people were found to have some form of ear morbidities.
One third of the total patients screened were found to have impacted wax followed by diminishing hearing (15%) and chronic suppurative otitis media (5%).
The age-wise distribution of patients as per their ear morbidities is summarized in the above Chart:
All the beneficiaries screened were counselled by the medical team of Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. The patients who were found to be suffering from ear problems were provided medication free of cost through Department of Community Medicine, MAMC. Twenty percent of the patients required further intervention and were referred to Department of ENT, Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi.
A role play was performed by the interns of MAMC to raise awareness about ear care in the community. The content of the talk included commonly encountered ear problems in children, talking about various milestones which can help detect hearing loss in a child and various Do’s and Don’ts related to ear care.
In order to spread awareness regarding ear and hearing care, a short talk was conducted. The talk was conducted in a school run by Neev, an educational project of Nav Abhiyan (A grassroots development initiative promoting self-reliance and self-esteem). The participating parents and children belonged to low socio-economic backgrounds.
Awareness talks were delivered using IEC material (Including pamphlets, posters and flipcharts both in Hindi and English) developed by Society of Sound Hearing.
The content of the talk included commonly encountered ear problems in children, talking about various milestones which can help detect hearing loss in a child and various Do’s and Don’ts related to ear care. Special mention was given to various factors that can contribute towards hearing loss in a baby and parents were also informed about significance of early screening of children for hearing loss.
The talk was interactive in nature where the questions were asked in the community and the discussion was done on the basis of the answers received. The community participated in the interactive talk actively and showed interest in listening and learning.
IEC material of Society of Sound Hearing was displayed in the school premises and distributed to the teachers of the school and the community members. Subsequently 25 people who reported any symptoms of ear problems were screened. The necessary medication for ear wax was provided to the patients free of cost. The patients requiring further intervention were referred to Lok Nayak Hospital.