Brett Lee bats for awareness on hearing health

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22

International cricket icon Brett Lee visited Chandigarh to raise awareness about the significant functional, social, emotional and economic impact of hearing impairment on individuals and their families.

Dr Naresh K Panda, Professor and Head, ENT Department, PGI, and Dr Sanjay Munjal, Associate Professor in Audiology and Speech Pathology at the PGI, got together to escalate conversations on the current hearing health situation in Punjab and Haryana.

Speaking at the briefing, Brett Lee said: “Today, hearing loss has become a huge global public health issue. I wish to use this platform to say that everyone deserves to enjoy the sounds of everyday life.”

He emphasised that parents and family members should not ignore the smallest signs of hearing loss and take speedy action.

“The Centre and state governments must mandate the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) in India,” he stressed.

Dr Panda said: “Hearing loss is often treated as a low-profile disability as it cannot be seen. Punjab alone has around 1.46 lakh citizens who suffer from hearing impairment.”

He said children born deaf in India suffer delays in development of speech, language and cognition. This hampers the child’s education, career and entire life.

“However, the UNHS can identify any sign of hearing impairment and early detection makes treatment a possibility. Medical technology has given birth to a great innovation that can now restore one’s hearing ability and transform the life of the patient,” Dr Panda said.

Highlighting the importance of awareness and screening, Dr Munjal said: “In the absence of a screening programme, parents are still dependent to identify hearing loss in children through language learning and comprehension over a period of time. Such delays cost children up to 24 months of precious time of cognitive development. Timely identification and treatment of hearing loss is imperative.”

He said adequate assistance acquired at an early stage helps the child develop good verbal language skills and gives them the opportunity to become part of mainstream society.

Brett Lee recalls traumatic experience

Talking about a traumatic experience that made a deep impact on him, Lee recalled that his son, at the age of five years, had suffered a fall and fractured a small part of his skull. The injury was close to his ear and led to hearing loss in one ear. “Fortunately over the next few months, his hearing was restored to normal, naturally. But those days just made me realise that no one deserves to live in silence,” he said, adding that his experience through that phase of life led him towards creating awareness about hearing health.