Artificial ears come to India

Artificial ears are finally becoming a reality for deaf people in India, say Indian doctors trained in the new technique.

Assessment of the first beneficiaries in India has already begun at the joint-venture Apollo Hospital in Madras and first implants are scheduled to begin in January.

According to members of the Apollo team, the first operations will be done under guidance of Dr John Graham, director of the cochlear implant unit at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in London.

The Apollo team itself consists of specialists trained in cochlear implants and can handle patients as young as two years of age as well as adults. ''Implants are important for children because they help normal child development,'' an Apollo surgeon said.

Describing the operation he said the oblong-shaped implants are inserted into an excavation drilled right into the skull bone and a thin electrode connected to the inner ear (cochlea).

Sound waves received in a small pocket speech processor are converted into electrical impulses which go through implant through nerves to the brain, allowing the patient to hear, he said.

The doctors expect to treat patients defeaned by diseases such as meningitis, road accidents in which the skull has fractured or even some babies born deaf.