The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in collaboration with Med-el and Hearing Health Alliance, has embarked on a hearing loss awareness and free assessment programme for new born babies in the facility.

The programme, which was launched in June 2023 is meant to ensure the early detection of hearing complications in newly born babies and protect them from avoidable hearing impairments through early screening, detection and treatment.

The free hearing screening services is available at the A2 Hearing Assessment Room at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Directorate from Mondays to Fridays between 9:00 a.m. and 12 noon.

Giving further details about the rational for the project, Dr. Mrs. Akosua Agyemang Prempeh, Head of Audiology Section of the ENT Unit, explained that hearing loss was a common birth defect that could affect a baby’s ability to develop speech, language and social skills.

“Early detection and intervention of hearing loss averts many of the complications associated with it”, she assured.

Dr. Mrs. Agyemang-Prempeh disclosed that from 11th to 31st July, 2023 as many as 96 babies were screened which was a great achievement.

“Of every 1,000 children born, two to three can have hearing impairment ranging from mild to profound but this will be difficult to tell until the baby is screened” she revealed.

She said if this was not done, by the time it is detected after the child had grown, there would be a lot of setbacks for the child in terms of language acquisition. Interventions should be instituted before age 5, as after this age, language acquisition becomes virtually impossible.”

Dr. Mrs. Agyemang-Prempeh advised all mothers of newly born babies to take advantage of the free screening to save their babies from avoidable hear losses and its related complications.

“Regrettably, there have been challenges with the exercise because some of the mothers when asked to bring back their babies for the screening three to seven days after birth, they do not come at all.” she echoed.

Sompaonline.com/Nana Yaw Boamah