Glenwood man can hear again thanks to Cochlear implants
Specialised medical care shouldn't just be for the rich, says KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane.
GLENWOOD man Xolani Sikhosana (43) was able to hear for the first time in months when his cochlear implant was switched in at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital on Thursday, May 11.
He was joined by two-year-old baby Uminathi Mafisa (from Pinetown and Newcastle), who was also hearing for the first time thanks to a cochlear implant.
The KZN Health Department shared the news in a statement, saying these patients are among the first 10 patients to benefit from the KwaZulu-Natal Auditory Implant Programme (KZN-AIP), since its launch in March 2021.
“The programme is a collaboration between the KZN Department of Health and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and draws on the expertise of Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons and audiologists. It also includes Deaf community advocates and is premised on a vision to see people-centered Ear and Hearing Care become accessible to all,” said the department.
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Reacting to the latest cochlear implant switch-on process, Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said: “This is something that other provinces have been doing. We’re very excited about this programme because it’s going to change people’s lives. The private sector has been doing it, but we’re now, as Government, beginning to provide the service to our own patients. We’re very excited because it means those people who don’t have money, who ordinarily wouldn’t have access to this kind of procedure, are going to get it. And that’s how it should be.”
Simelane added that the department was not able to budget for this, but medical specialists assisted in making it possible.
According to the department, cochlear implants are electronic devices that bypass the middle and inner-ear structures, to stimulate the auditory nerve directly.
“The implants can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment, making it possible to understand speech,” said the Department.
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UKZN-based audiologist and lecturer Dr Zandile Shezi said conducting the switch-on gave meaning to her job.
“I feel like I’m making an impact in somebody’s life. We work with adults and children. When it comes to children, as a result of them having hearing loss, their speech is not developed, so if we provide them with cochlear implants, their speech and language will develop. With adults … some lose their jobs, and their quality of life basically changes for the worst. So, through this work, we are restoring their quality of life. They can get back to work, do things on their own, and be independent,” she said.
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