speaking on the occasion Ms Natarajan said sense of hearing is most important of all five senses. Millions of people suffer from hearing impairment and lead a life with deaf and dumbness. In India itself in a population of 1.2 billion, 3 million children are afflicted of deafness, most common being the congenital problem, this severely impacts our economy. Congenital deafness is due to genetic problems on account of consanguinous marriages prevalent especially in South India. Noise induced hearing loss on account of our festivities, celebrations occupational noise, mobile phones etc is also on the rise leading to cumulative damage to our inner ear. Many of these can benefit from conventional hearing aids but several others require implants like cochlear implants. The cochlear implant technology has reached our country two decades ago and Cochlear implants group of India (CIGI) has successfully created awareness about these implants and Governments like that of AP, Tamilnadu and Kerala are
APSCI is being hosted for the first time in India at Hyderabad from 26 – 29 November, 2013. The Symposium is being jointly hosted by the Cochlear Implant Group of India (CIGI); Medvarsity; Apollo Hospitals Group and SAHI(Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired). This Symposium is hosted Biannually in a country in the Asia Pacific region and was brought to India, despite a stiff competition from China. The world class infrastructure and airport at Hyderabad tilted the decision in favour of Hyderabad city in India. The earlier Symposium in 2011 was hosted by South Korea and the next Symposium will be hosted by China.
The APSCI 2013 is being attended by over 1000 delegates from around 60 countries across the globe. 200 of these delegates are from India. The faculty comprises of 55 eminent experts from all over the world including Dr.Blake Papsin, Toronto; Dr.Haruo Takahashi, Japan; Dr.Colleen Psarros, Australia; Dr.Robert Briggs, Australia;Dr.Vittorio Colletti, Italy; Dr.Levent Sennaroglu, Turkey; Dr.Gerard O'Donoghue , UK and Dr.Joachim Muller, Germany.
Cochlear Implant is the most significant development in the last 20 – 30 years. Cochlear implant surgery in India has taken a giant leap forward in the past 5 years & India will soon become a favoured Global destination for people opting for this surgical procedure, says Dr. Mohan Kameswaran. In India itself around 3 million children need cochlear implants. Genitics of deafness is one of the significant topics being discussed at the symposium, our studies found 6 children are born with profound deafness in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which is 3 times the national average and 6 times the international average. 2/3 of these profound children were found to be born to parents married into cousins or consanguineous in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The four day Symposium will serve as a platform for leading surgeons, therapists, audiologist and scientists to interact with each other. The scientific sessions will deliberate extensively on Binaural Hearing and Bilateral Cochlear Implantation; Implant options for Single Sided Deafness (SSD); Recent advances in Bone Conduction Implants (BCI); Smart Mapping and Remote Mapping; Brainstem and Beyond; Robotics in Implantation Otology; CI in the Developing World; Implants in abnormal cochlea & its nerve and Implantation in multihandicap. The elaborate trade fair will expose the delegates to the latest technology that can aid the medical fraternity in accomplishing better results and benefit the patients.
According to Dr. EC Vinaya Kumar, we are hosting this international symposium with an objective of“bridging hearing beyond boundaries.” The conference aims to encourage researchers, surgeons, practitioners and young scientists from across the world to come together and learn from the experience of each other. Internationally renowned faculty is available for scientific deliberations and various platforms of interaction provide a truly enriching experience.
The current conference is aiming at highlighting the concern of hearing impaired people in developing countries, especially countries like India. It’s aimed at updating the best available technology and treatment procedures for restoration of hearing in these individuals.
Some of the highlight topics being discussed at the Symposium are Implanting in malformed ears, Treatment for individuals with auditory nerve deficiency (Auditory brainstem Implant), Surgery for Tinnitu and Robotics in otology.
About SAHI
SAHI (Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired) an NGO consisting of concerned citizens, ENT surgeons, audiologists etc., has been working to help poor children with hearing impairment. Every year in AP alone approximately 2,500 children are born totally deaf. If not treated in the first 3-5 years of life they will remain hearing and speech challenged all their lives. SAHI identifies children mainly in rural areas with little or no access to modern medical treatment by conducting camps in remote areas of the state and free surgeries for them. SAHI through its ‘Gift a Ear’ project - launched on 27th May, 2006, assists patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss with Cochlear Implant operation. On the occasion of its 2nd anniversary, SAHI launched an ambitious program called the ‘Deaf Free Mandal’ project by adopting Nawabpet mandal in the backward district of Mahabubnagar on 4th November, 2006. SAHI ensured incorporation of Cochlear Implant Surgeries in the Rajiv Arogyasree.
About Apollo Cochlear Implant Clinic
The Apollo Cochlear Implant Clinic, the first of its kind in South India, was established in 1994 at the Apollo Health City Campus, Hyderabad. The Clinic headed by Dr.E.C.Vinaya Kumar and Co-ordinated by Dr.K.Rambabu has performed more than 700 implantations since 1994 and has grown to be one of the largest pediatric cochlear implant programs in India and South Asia. This multidisciplinary team has special expertise in evaluating and implanting very young children, including infants. The team has won several laurels during these years including a world record of performing highest number of cochlear implant surgeries (18) in a single day and successfully campaigned with the Government of Andhra Pradesh in including Cochlear implant program in Rajiv Arogyasree. The team has to its credit over 68 scientific studies related to cochlear implants and related sciences.
