Panel Discussion on Hearing Loss in Children, Kolkata

Hearing problems in children and teenagers is on the rise and diseases such as meningitis, typhoid and encephalitis are thought to be the cause.

This was the opinion of ENT specialists who spoke at a panel discussion in Kolkata. Dr. A K Lahiri, consultant ENT surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi said, “Apart from deafness in newborns, cases have also been found where teenagers were suffering from hearing problems. The reason is that they mostly tend to spend their nights in discos, listen to loud music in closed rooms and use mobiles phones for hours.”

“In India, about 63 percent children are facing deafness. In the city, out of every 1000, two children may be deaf, added Dr. B K Roychoudhuri. Experts interacted with children and their parents at a one-day awareness programme on hearing loss in children in Kolkata on 7th October 2007. The programme was organized by Widex India. Around 50 children and their parents from seven prominent schools in Kolkata participated in the discussion.